The Thin Line Between Love and Hate
by aqua-dragon28
Summary: Blue,an average girl from Sevii is sent to boarding school where she meets new friends, new enemies, and a jerk named Green.They'll hate each other's guts, but can love blossom out of that hate?Shippings:Oldrival,mangaquest,frantic,special,one-sided lucky
1. Prologue

**Hi! This is my latest story. It's loosely based on the drama _Hana Yori Dango (Sorry if it's spelled wrong). _Yeah, I should probably work on "Something More" first, but I'm having a slight writer's block... Also, this idea wouldn't stop buzzing around in my head, so I finally sat down and wrote it out. Hope you enjoy! Shippings: Oldrival, Special, Mangaquest, Frantic, and one-sided Luckyshipping. **

**Disclaimer: Nope, I am not the owner of Pokemon or _Hana Yori Dango._**

"This"- is talking

'This'-is thinking

'_This' and "This"- _are flashbacks

* * *

'What…the…hell!'

_Hi! My name's Blue. I come from a little place known as the Sevii Islands; but a few days ago…_

"_Ding-dong!"_

"_I'll get it mom!" I ran to the door and flung it open. There stood a strange, old man wearing a red shirt, beige pants, and a white lab coat. He was also carrying a brown briefcase._

"_We're not buying!!" I yelled at him before slamming the door. "Weirdo…"_

"_Who was it Blue-chan?" called my mother from the kitchen._

"_Some strange man wearing a lab coat." I turned to retreat back to the living room._

"_What?! Blue, that was Prof. Oak of Kanto! Don't you remember him?" She hurried to the door and opened it to find the professor lying on the ground, partially unconscious…_

"_Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry Professor!" my mother babbled, helping the man up and bowing many, many times._

"_Eh-he-he! It's fine! I'm alright!" He picked up his briefcase and bowed to my mother. "It's been a long time."_

_My mother bowed again. "Yes, please come in."_

_Inside, my mother threw a quick glare at me before inviting Prof. Oak into the living room._

_My father and little brother, Silver, were in the living room._

"_Prof. Oak! It's been quite a while!" My father stood up and bowed, while the professor did the same._

_My mother came in carrying a tray of tea, teacups, and rice crackers. Silver helped himself to two crackers then retreated to the corner of the room to observe everything._

"_So what brings you here Prof. Oak?" my mother asked after everyone had been served._

"_Hmm?" Prof. Oak stopped in mid-gulp. "Oh! Sorry!" He opened his briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers._

"_These are the administration forms for Kanto Elite Private Academy, or K.E.P.A. for short."_

_My parents looked at the forms in shock. "B-but, I thought the registration was months ago!" my mother said._

"_No, I pulled some strings and managed to get an opening for your daughter. She's really quite smart and her test scores were impressive."_

_My mother glanced at my father, then the professor. "The fees…"_

"_All the expenses are covered. Your daughter was bright enough to get a full scholarship."_

_My parents looked at each other, then at me. "Well, Blue. What do you think?"_

_Outside I was calm, but inside I was freaking out. 'Boarding school?! What the hell?!"'_

_Then I saw the expressions on my parents' faces. They looked at me hopefully. A full scholarship would be much less a weight, what with two mouths to feed and pay for._

_I glanced at Silver and he nodded at me quickly. I nodded back slightly to him._

"_Alright, I'll go."_

"_Excellent! There is a ferry leaving five days from today. School starts on the first of Sept. You'll share a dorm with others and can return for holidays or emergencies. I'll see you on the campus!" With that said Prof. Oak finished his tea, bowed, thanked us, and left._

"_Mom, who was he?" Silver asked._

"_That was Prof. Oak dear. Blue used to play with his grandson all the time when she was little. What was his name? Grey? Glenn? Oh, you'll see him Blue. He goes to the academy too."_

'_Great, friends with someone I can't even remember…' I thought as I went upstairs to pack._

_-6 days later-_

"_Oh crap! I'm late!!"_

_I ran down the long wooden hallways of the academy trying to find room 2A._

_After missing the first day, I had arrived, dropped off my suitcases and gotten my schedule. I was now dashing around the school, trying to find the stupid room!_

"_Wham!!"_

"_Ow…Sorry…" I looked up, only to see a pair of emerald eyes staring back into mine._

_It was a strange (though hot, I had to admit) guy. He had light brown hair sticking up and was wearing what I assumed was the boy's uniform._

_I got up and dusted off my skirt. "Sorry about that, I was kind of in a hurry…"_

"_Hn…" He turned around and walked in the direction where I had come from._

"_Hmph! What a rude guy! Though, he looks familiar…" _

_Then, realizing I was wasting time, I ran off in search of the classroom._

_Finally, I found the door that had the words stamped in gold lettering, 2A. I had passed by it twice without noticing…_

_Taking a deep breath, I opened the door. 25 pairs of eyes bore into me. I shrank back. "Um…I'm here for English with Prof. Elm…?"_

_The gangly man wearing a lab coat walked over. "That would be me! Now, please introduce yourself to the class."_

_I walked over to the middle of the room. "Um…I'm Blue. I'm from the Sevii Islands. Nice to meet you."_

_My classmates stared at me, their expressions very bored._

_The professor came over. "Well, Blue, please go sit next to Green over there. Raise your hand Green."_

_I looked over and…_

'What…the…hell!'

* * *

**Sorry it's so short, but it's just the prologue. I've got the next ch. all ready, but I need to edit it and add/take away, some stuff. Don't worry, I will continue to write more! Also, the scholarship thing is because in Japan I think you have to either test into a good school or pay a lot to get into one. Keep on reading and reviewing please!**


	2. The GR2

**Hello! This is the second (or first...not including the prologue of the first one) ch. of my third story! Yay! Anyways, this story has been running around for a long time in my head, just begging to be written. So now that I've written it, please take the time to read and review. Reviews are very nice, and make me happy. The story will generally be told in Blue's P.O.V., but some ch. might be in the other charactar's P.O.V. I'll be updating "Something More" soon, so look out for it, and remember...REVIEW!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!! (runs to corner to sob)**

* * *

'What the hell?!'

Sitting in his chair with his hand raised was the guy I had bumped into.

Messy hair, green eyes, bored expression.

Yup, it was definitely the same guy.

I walked over stiffly and sat down. Then I glared at him.

"Jerk," I muttered under my breath as Prof. Elm started talking about nouns.

He glanced at me then looked away.

-break time-

Walking down the hall without anyone to talk to was quite boring. Most of the students were snobs who only seemed to care about money.

I turned the corner…and saw Green looking down at a girl with long blonde hair.

"I-I'm sorry…" I could hear the girl murmuring quietly to him. However, he just stood there, not accepting her apology.

"Sorry isn't good enough! Yeah!" A group of what I assumed was fan girls stood near Green and yelled at the poor girl.

Suddenly, I snapped. I walked over to them and stood between the girl and Green.

"Hey! Stop picking on other people you jerk!" Green stared back at me impassively. "Accept her apology!"

Finally, he spoke. "…Why should I?" Infuriated, I slapped him.

All the fan girls gasped. Green turned his head toward me, staring me down. I broke away first and ran off, out one of the fire escape doors.

-outside-

"I HATE THIS SCHOOL!!"

I was outside on the staircase of the fire escape, screaming my frustrations.

"Stupid school, filled with rich snobs and their "precious" toys….cars…whatever…"

I was shocked to find myself crying a little.

"Oh…they flew away…"

Surprised, I turned around. There sitting on the steps below me was a guy with black hair, brushed neatly, wearing a red tie.

"Whoops, didn't see you…are you crying?" The boy leaned closer. I turned slightly. "No, of course not."

"Yeah you are. Here" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a slightly crumpled handkerchief.

"Thanks…" I took it and wiped away my tears. "So, why were you crying?"

I opened my mouth; ready to rant about "the jerk" when the bell suddenly rang.

"Oh crap, I have to get to the other side of the building. I'll see you around!" He ran up the stairs, two at a time, and into the building.

"W-wait!" I cried out after him; but it was too late. "I didn't even get your name…"

Sighing, I went up the stairs and back to class.

-Lunch time-

I walked aimlessly through the halls into the cafeteria, still holding onto the handkerchief. I hadn't heard a single word that the professors or teachers had said; too busy dreaming about the boy.

'Jeez…the only nice living being in this school and I didn't even get his name! Way to go Blue!'

"Hey you!" I turned. "Yeah, you! Stop right there!" A group of four girls marched over.

"We saw what you did to Green-sama today! You slapped him! No one should ever touch, much less slap him!" said the bubblegum pink haired one.

"Uh…who exactly are you people?"

They gasped. "You don't know who we are?!" Suddenly they separated.

The light green haired one ran in from the left, cart wheeling and stopping about where they had been before. "I'm Mint!"

The violet haired one front flipped, landing to the left-front of. "I'm Lavender!"

The sky blue haired one back flipped in to the right-front. "I'm Celestine!"

The pink haired one cart wheeled in with one hand to the middle. "And I'm Magenta!"

Then they struck a pose. Lavender knelt down holding up a banner that said, "GR2 4ever!" Lavender slid onto her right knee, while Celestine slid down onto her left knee. Then Magenta stood up and peace signed, while Lavender and Celestine threw party streamers. "We are the GR2 fan club!" they chanted in unison.

I sweatdropped. "Okay…" Suddenly they all turned on me. "We won't forgive you for harming Green-sama!" They took out pokeballs, about to throw them.

"Hey! Stop bothering her!" I turned. There stood the blonde girl from break with two other girls. One was a brunette with dark blue eyes and another with jet black hair and light blue eyes.

"Oh, it's you again," sighed Magenta impatiently. "We don't want to fight with losers like you." Her gang snickered, while the brunette (who had yelled before) lunged at them.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" We all turned to see Officer Jenny (the supervisor) standing there. "Put those pokeballs away, you know pokemon aren't allowed out during school hours! And no fighting! Don't let me catch you starting a fight again or I'll make sure you get in trouble!"

Magenta and her posse nodded and put the pokeballs away. "Yes, Officer Jenny. We won't let you _catch_ us fighting…" They walked away, noses held high in the air, swishing their skirts.

"I swear those people are crazy…"

I turned around and looked at the other girls. The blonde who I had seen before walked over hesitantly.

"Hi, I'm Yellow…" She smiled at me and bowed.

I laughed a bit at her rather formal introduction. "I'm Blue. Nice to meet you." I glanced at the other two and Yellow beckoned for them to come over.

"I'm Crystal, but you can call me Crys," said one of them. She had on the regular school uniform and her hair was tied up in two cute pigtails. I also noticed her eyes were a light shade of blue.

"My name's Sapphire. My friends call me Sapph." The brunette looked over me, speculatively. "I guess you can call me that too…"

I laughed. "Well, I hope we can be friends." "Do you want to eat with us?" Yellow smiled at me.

"Sure, everyone else here seems to be weird…"

-at the lunch table-

The lunch room was so fancy; I could barely eat, since I was staring in awe of everything.

The floor was made of aged wood and marble, the tables were also made of the same wood as the floor. Chandeliers hung above the tables, sending off sparkles everywhere. Maids and butlers stood, waiting hand and foot on all the little "princes" and "princesses."

"Why do you look so shocked?" asked Sapphire already munching down her third burger.

"Everything is a lot different from my old school…"

"Really? Where do you come from?" Crystal asked, taking a sip from her water.

"I'm from Sevii. I actually got into the scholarship thingy so I'm not used to all this "fancy" crap."

"What grade are you in?" Yellow asked, nibbling on a cookie.

"Actually, I'm a senior…"

"A-ah, sorry, I didn't know!" Yellow babbled, bowing repeatedly. "Forgive me for speaking so informally."

I waved a hand in the air. "It's cool. Just call me Blue." Yellow was about to protest but I cut her off. "Are you not listening to your sempai?" She laughed. "Okay…Blue."

"Anyways, what was up with those weird girls?"

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's Magenta and her crew…They have serious issues…"

"What were they babbling about? Something about GR2…?"

"It's actually like GR times 2," Crystal chipped in.

"…So they're a fan club…?"

"Yeah, they're the fan club of GR2."

"Who are the GR2 anyways?"

Sapphire sighed, then turned in her chair, and pointed to a table in the corner. "Those four are the GR2."

I looked over at the table. "But those are just four guys. What's so special about them?"

"Their parents are the wealthiest sponsors of the school. Without that money, this school would be nothing." Sapphire put in bluntly.

"So, what's with the weird name?" 'I mean seriously, GR2?!'

"It stands for Green Red Gold Ruby. Those are their names. They didn't come up with the name; the fan club did," stated Crystal matter-of-factly.

"What makes them so different from all the other rich snobs around here?"

"Like I said, it's their relatives that make them so special. For instance, that's Ruby." I looked at the boy she was pointing at. He had black hair, though most of it was covered in a white cap with a black and red band at the bottem and the pokeball logo. His uniform had been modified and he was sewing intently on what looked like a jacket.

"His dad is Norman; recognize the name?" I thought for a minute. "Wait, you mean Norman the gym leader?!" Sapph nodded. "Yeah, his dad's a gym leader and his mother is a fashion designer."

"Wow…So what about the others?"

"They're also like that. For instance, that's Gold." Crystal nodded in the direction of another guy at the table.

He was wearing a yellow and black cap backwards covering most of his black hair, though some of it stuck out the front. His uniform was also messy, but I think it was intentionally like that.

"His dad is the founder of Miracle Cycle, you know that bike company?" "Seriously? I have one of their bikes!"

"So does everyone else in the world." Once again, I was awed by what I'd just learned.

I looked over more carefully at the table; and saw my hero sitting next to Gold.

"What's his name?"

"Oh that guy? That's Red. I think his dad was a league champion, Ash Ketchum…? Not too many people know about him, but he's probably the nicest one of the four." (**A/N: Sorry, I couldn't think of a good "popular" relative for Red...so Ash is now a proud papa!!)**

I stared at him dreamily, before I noticed the final guy talking to Red. "Wait, he's Red's friend?!"

Sapph looked over to where I was staring. "You mean Green?" "Yeah, that jerk's his friend?!"

"Yeah, they're best friends from what I've heard." "Best friends?! What makes him so special?"

"Green's probably the most popular of the four. He's like, the king of the school." "Yeah, but why?"

"Oh, it's because he's Prof. Oak's grandson."

I spat out the water I'd been drinking and coughed. "HE'S PROF. OAK'S SON?!"

"Yeah…" Sapph gave me a weird look. "Is that a problem…?"

I didn't answer, too busy remembering something.

**Flashback**

_Mom, who was he?" Silver asked._

"_That was Prof. Oak dear. Blue used to play with his grandson all the time when she was little. What was his name? Grey? Glenn? Oh, you'll see him Blue. He goes to the academy too."_

**End of Flashback**

"That jerk was my friend?!"

* * *

**Finished w/this chapter! It's longer than the first one and (hopefully) better than the last one! Please review, I'd love some feedback on this story...I'm starting to think you guys don't like it 'cause you're not reviewing, I dunno...but I've been wanting to write this one for quite some time so some review would be lovely!! So, please review!!**


	3. Cafeteria Commotion

**Hello people! I'm finally updating so yay! I'll be updating "Something More," either tomorrow or the day after so wait just a little more... For this story, there will be more action (and Oldrivalshipping & other shippings) soon so be patient; I know it's kind of slow, but this isn't exactly a love-at-first-sight story. BTW, there will be one-sided Luckyshipping (Red X Blue) in the beginning, if you haven't noticed, but it WILL BE AN OLDRIVALSHIPPING STORY!! Anyways, enjoy!!**

**Disclaimer: I didn't own Pokemon the last ch., what made you think I did this ch.?**

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"Blue…Blue! BLUE!!"

"Huh?..."

I snapped out of my daydream, startled by the sound and sight of Sapphire waving her hand in my face and yelling.

"Didn't you hear the bell? We have to get back to class!"

I looked around and saw that she was right. Everyone was grabbing their bags and (obviously) leaving their trash for the workers to clean up.

"Hurry up Blue! We're gonna be late!!"

"Okay." I grabbed my own bag and my juice (which I hadn't finished in time) and joined Yellow, Crys, and Sapph who were standing near the mob of people trying to get through the doors.

"Ugh! There are way too many people here!" I muttered as we pushed and shoved our way through the mass of slow people.

"Waah!!" Suddenly, I tripped over someone's foot and found myself falling face first to the ground.

"Oof…" I managed to get back my balance, but saw that I had spilled my drink on someone's shoes.

"Oh crap…" I looked up to see who I spilled my drink on. "I'm so sorry…"

And found myself staring into a pair of intimidating green eyes…

'Why does it always have to be HIM?! Does Arceus hate me?!'

I stared speechlessly at the spreading puddle of orange on Green's shoes. I knew I was going to be screwed many, many times over now.

"HOW DARE YOU SPILL SOMETHING ON GREEN-SAMA YOU BITCH?!"

I turned around to see Magenta right in my face, spitting out the words. I cringed away, but couldn't manage to answer.

"Well?" she snapped at me.

"…Sorry…"

"SORRY ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!!"

"Well, what else do you want me to do, huh?! Lick it off?!"

She smirked. 'The bitch.' "Sure, lick it off."

I looked around desperately, but found myself surround in a tight ring by all the GR2's followers, eagerly anticipating my humiliation. Yellow, Crys, and Sapph had been pushed out of the ring, restrained by more fans. I could see Yellow's apologetic expression, Crys' frustration, and Sapph's clearly mad face.

I found myself shoved to my knees. "Lick it off, dirt." Magenta cackled evilly, her expression clearly amused.

The rest of the crowd took up the chant. "Lick it off! Lick it off!"

Finally, I looked up at the only person who could save me at the moment.

Green's eyes bore into mine. I was both awed and frightened by how deep his expression looked. But no matter how deep his eyes were, one thing was clear. He wasn't going to let me off.

I glared defiantly at him, and then said slowly, "No." The circle gasped. "You're going to do it!" screeched Magenta.

"No! I won't let you push me around! Just because you're rich, or have better clothes, or fancier Pokemon, doesn't mean you're better than me!!"

I stood up and glared at all of them, saving Green's face last. "Especially you! I hate people like you! Always acting like your better than others who are less fortunate! Well guess what?! You're not!!"

"You can't talk to Green-sama like that!! Get her!!"

Suddenly I found myself on the floor again, but this time, people were kicking, punching, and pushing me around.

I curled into a ball and prayed I wouldn't be too badly injured. I peeked through my fingers and saw Yellow, Crys, and Sapph, all looking worried, and struggling to get out of the crazy fans' clutches. I looked up…and saw Green staring at me with no apparent expression.

I suffered more and more bruises and scratches as the beating continued. Slowly, the pain started to fade and all I felt was numbness throughout my body. Then, everything started to get hazy…

"Stop!!"

All the fists and feet pulled away. I managed to open my eyelids…and saw Red!

He pushed his way through the mob and knelt beside me. "Are you okay?"

I blushed a little and tried to sit up. "Yeah…" I started coughing. Apparently, some of them had kicked me quite hard in the lungs.

"Blue!!" I turned and saw Yellow, Crys, and Sapph running toward me. "I'm sorry!" babbled Yellow as she helped me sit up. Crys and Sapph also helped prop me up; their expressions extremely worried.

"It wasn't your fault…" I looked toward Green, who was watching the whole scene.

Red stood up. "That was irresponsible Green!"

Green stared at Red…then turned around and walked out of the lunch room.

Gold and Ruby looked at each other, shrugged, and then went after Green.

Red sighed. "Don't bother her anymore," he said, addressing the whole crowd. Then he looked at me, smiled an apologetic smile, and ran off after Green.

The crowd began to drift away; now that Sapphire was loose, they didn't want to mess with me. Magenta and her posse sniffed at me, and then stalked off.

"That girl has some serious issues…" I heard Sapph mutter as she glared at the rest of the crowd.

"Are you okay?" Crys asked as they helped me stand. "Yeah." I winced as my legs wobbled a little from the pain.

"Do you want us to help you go to Nurse Joy?" Yellow was clearly still worried about me.

I smiled weakly at them. "Nah, I'll be fine. You guys go to class; I'll catch up with you later."

"O-ok, be careful." They hurried away, continually glancing back at me, worried.

I waited until they were out of sight, then pulled my shirt up a little. Small bruises and cuts, along with a big bruise on my stomach were welling up. I gently pressed one of the bruises and winced.

"Some friend he was…" I muttered to myself as I hobbled out the empty cafeteria to Nurse Joy's office.

**

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Well, I hope you enjoyed it... Poor Blue...but she'll get her revenge eventually... Like I said, this story starts off kind of slow so bear with me! I'll update when I get two reviews (more would be even better though! hint hint) REVIEW!!


	4. Damsel in Distress

Hey guys! Sorry for not updating sooner, my teachers have been packing in a lot of tests, quizzes, and homework so I've had no time or excess brain power/energy to write more. Anyways, Blue will definitely get her revenge on the psycho fans, but this ch. mainly focuses on Crystal, so enjoy!!!

"This"- is talking

'This'- is thinking

**Disclaimer**: Nope...I don't own Pokemon...

* * *

After half an hour of sighing, shaking her head, and a lot of antiseptic and bandages, Nurse Joy deemed me well enough to go back to class.

"Be careful not to trip anymore," she called after me as I slid the door to her office to leave.

I nodded, thanked her and left. Luckily for the crazy fans, I didn't tattle on them. I preferred to come up with my own revenge…

**After School**

"Freedom!" School was finally over and I skipped down the steps, looking for Yellow, Crys, and Sapph.

They stood next to an oak tree, Yellow chatting with Sapph, while Crys read a book.

"Hey guys!" They all looked up and waved.

"How are you?" Once again, Yellow looked concerned. I wanted to hug her, she was so cute!

"Yeah, are you okay? I could beat up Magenta and her posse!" Sapph looked at me eagerly.

Crys sighed and closed her book, "You know that would only get you and Blue in more trouble."

I laughed and waved my hand dismissively. "Nah, but I'll think of something. I'll tell you when the time is right."

Sapph looked disappointed, but smirked at the thought of getting revenge.

"Erm…well Blue, do you know where you live?" asked Yellow, trying to steer our minds away from thoughts of revenge.

"Huh? Oh yeah…" I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "Um…house 2B."

"Great! That's the same house that we're in!" cheered Sapph, snapping out of her daydreams of revenge.

Yellow nodded, "We'll show you the way there."

"You guys go ahead, I've got to go help the Professor do some stuff," said Crys, waving, and then running off.

I stared after her, "Is she always this busy?"

"Yup, that's Crys," sighed Yellow, "If it's not school, it's helping the Professor, and if it's not helping the Professor, it's helping out at the daycare center. Sometimes I think she needs to loosen up a little."

"Like me!" piped up Sapph.

"No, you need someone to keep you in line!" scolded Yellow.

"No I don't!"

I laughed at their bickering while still being amazed at Crys' enthusiasm to work so hard.

**Crystal's P.O.V.**

"I'm done Professor!" I yelled through the door.

The Prof. walked into the room looking surprised. "Already Crystal? You get faster at this everyday…"

"Not really…May I go now Professor?" I asked, already packing up my books.

"Hm? Oh, of course Crystal. See you tomorrow!" he said, looking through the files on Pidgey nests I'd been working on.

I walked out of the building and saw the sky had already started to turn yellow-pink. 'Wow, it must be later than I thought it was…'

I was walking slowly, not in a real hurry to get back to the house. I had already finished all my homework and reports for the Professor; in fact, I was a few weeks ahead in the homework department.

I sighed, maybe Sapph and Yellow were right. Maybe I did need to loosen up a little.

"Hahaha!!! That's a good one!"

I turned slightly and noticed a group of guys following me. 'It's just a coincidence Crystal. They're not following you.'

Still, I started walking a little faster. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed they were walking faster too.

'Ok, still nothing to worry about. Just keep calm and don't make eye contact.'

"Hey cutie! Yeah you with the pigtails! Come over here!" I heard the rest of them laugh loudly at the speaker's comments.

I walked even faster, now between a power walk and a trot. I had to get away from these guys.

"Why you hurrying? We're not gonna hurt you. We just wanna have some fun with you! Isn't that right boys?" I heard grunts of agreement.

They were starting to catch up and now I could see them more clearly. They wore the regular boys' uniform but theirs were messy and disheveled. I could also smell the heavy scent of alcohol on them.

It was starting to get dark fast and the street remained empty. I shouldn't have been surprised by that fact; the campus was huge. Acres and acres of it were simply woods and fields, dedicated to Pokemon research, but another part of it was more urban. We had sidewalks (not that many people in this school used them) and streets (how else would the snobby get around?) all over the school grounds, leading to the campus and housing departments.

I jerked out of my thoughts as I realized the group of stalkers was less than 20 feet away. With no choice left, I started to run.

"She's getting away! After her!" I heard whooping and yelling as they pounded after me.

'Why couldn't they let us carry one Pokemon with us?!? If only I had Natee or Arckee with me then I could fly, teleport, or run out of here!' If I got out of here alive and with my dignity, I was seriously going to bring that rule up with Prof. Oak.

I continued to run blindly, zigzagging at corners, turning and running between buildings. Suddenly, I realized I had gone into a dead end alley.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we got her trapped."

I turned and glared at them. I backed up slowly as they came closer, planning all the while. I could probably take at least one or two of them down, hopefully distracting them enough to give me time to run.

My back was now against the wall and they loomed closer and closer. I got into a fighting pose, bouncing on the balls of my feet, ready to kick out…

"Do I see a pretty damsel in distress?" (**A/N**: Guess who? XD)

Suddenly, a dark shadow came crashing in from behind the gang.

"Oh shit!" They all dove out of the way to avoid being crushed. I looked away as a huge cloud of dust flew right into my face.

"Hey girl! Hurry up unless you want me to leave you with these goons!"

The only response I could think of was, "Huh?..."

"Get on!!!"

Seeing no other option (the "goons" were getting up already, their expressions murderous) I ran over and hopped on behind whoever was driving the motorcycle.

Said mysterious person kicked the motorcycle to life and we roared off.

I clung on to whoever was driving the death trap tightly, hoping I wouldn't fall off. The driver was laughing, either because of his psychopathic speed or at my discomfort, I was too worried to tell or care.

Finally after what seemed like a millennium (though it probably was less than 5-10 minutes) the guy cut the engine. I immediately jumped off as soon as it stopped.

"So, what's your name pretty lady?"

I turned around to yell at him for asking such a bold question with no manners whatsoever. Bad idea. I closed my eyes as everything spun. 'Note to self: Never ride a motorcycle.'

I cracked open my eyes when I felt something, or more specifically, someone, grab my elbow to steady me.

"Whoa, you okay there cutie?"

I looked straight into his face, and realized it was one of the GR2 members, Gold. Most of his hair was covered by his yellow-and-black cap, though some stuck out messily, and he had a pair of goggles pushed up onto his cap. His uniform was rumpled, but it actually suited him, unlike the pack of goons who had just looked disgusting and unhygienic.

Gold grinned at me then said, "Now that you're fine, you can go on a date with me, as a thank you for saving your butt."

I felt my face flush at his rash statement and jerked my arm away from his grip. His grin fell slightly and he looked confused.

"No thanks. I didn't need your help in the first place; I could've handled it on my own!"

He looked amused by what I said. "Really? Is that why you were standing there like a frightened Skitty?"

I glared at him, "No I wasn't!"

"Admit you needed my help and let's go on a date, cutie!"

At that moment, I lost my temper. "Which part of NO don't you get?!? I didn't need your help and I don't want to go out with you! You're just as bad as those other creeps!!!" With that, I kicked him where the sun don't shine and stormed off.

**Normal P.O.V.**

Gold stayed kneeled over at Crystal's impressive kick and stared after her retreating figure. He grinned through the pain. "That girl was interesting…"

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**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed that ch.! I love Gold, he's hilarious... Please review, at least 2 reviews before I update this again. (More would be great though!) This story isn't as popular as my other ones...is it 'cause you guys don't like oldrivalshipping? If that's why, don't worry; special, mangaquest, and franticshipping are going to be a huge part of this story! So tell everyone you know who likes those ships!!! And remember to review!!!

**P.S.** I'll be updating "Something More" either tomorrow or the day after for sure! I'm just editing it right now!!!


	5. Familiar and Similar

Hey everyone! Thanks for all the review of the last ch.! This chapter is dedicated to you guys! Sorry if it seems kinda dull, mostly explanation, but there will be more shippy stuff in the next ch.(hopefully!) This ch. contains Sapph's, Crys', and Blue's P.O.V.

**Disclaimer:** Pokemon isn't mine.

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**Sapphire's P.O.V.**

It was right after lunch and the big fight. I really wanted to beat up Magenta and her posse for hurting Blue. (I'm VERY protective of my friends.) Blue seemed pretty cool and able to handle herself, but Magenta was always too low to fight one-on-one.

I yawned again as Ms. Erika (or just Erika as she asked us to her that) kept going on and on about tea ceremonies.

Most of my class weren't listening either, but a few were. Like Ruby, one of the GR2 members. He sat in the front, clinging on to every word attentively. I rolled my eyes. 'Suck-up.'

I was sitting in the last class of the day, "Home Economics/Etiquette." The only reason I had joined was because my mom had forced me to join, obviously. I had screamed, yelled, and protested; but my mom ignored it all while my dad shrugged his shoulders sheepishly.

I tolerated this class (mom said I could join "Pokemon Battling 101"only if I took and passed this class.), but I loathed every second of it. Erika wasn't too bad, just too weak or "gentle," to handle the class. Like most of my classes, it was filled with greedy, stuck-up brats.

I looked up when I realized everyone was gathering around Erika's table.

"Come Sapphire. I am showing everyone how to brew a perfect pot of tea."

I got up slowly and nodded, but mentally groaned. 'Tea?!? Tea?!? I could be battling right now but nooo, I have to make tea?!?'

After I sat down, Erika nodded to me and picked up the tea pot. "We will begin by boiling a pot of water."

She filled the pot with water, then set it onto the heating plate and turned on the switch.

Nothing happened.

She furrowed her brow, her face breaking its usual tranquility, before turning the dial off and on again.

Once again, nothing.

I sighed; this was going nowhere. "I could start a fire easily," I said to Erika as she continued fiddling with the knob.

"Eh? No, it's fine. I'll just go get the janitor to fix it."

"It'll be a lot faster!" I argued, pulling out a pokeball.

Before Erika could respond I enlarged and threw the pokeball. "Go Toro!"

Out popped Toro, who let out a screech, her wrists flaring up.

Most of the class scooted away. "Wimps," I scoffed.

"Toro use ember on that heating plate!"

Toro screeched again before opening her mouth and letting out a jet of flames.

Immediately, everyone jumped back away from the table as the flames engulfed it.

"Oops," I muttered when Toro finally stopped. The whole table was burnt and charred and the hotplate was merely a pile of ashes.

"Aaah!!!!"

I turned around at the cry. The GR2 member, Ruby, was running around the room, his hat on fire.

I couldn't help it. I started laughing, while everyone else looked horrified.

"Put it out!" he yelled as he ran by.

Erika and the others just stood there, staring with wide eyes. Finally, I picked up the pot of still cold water and dumped it over his head when he ran past me.

"Ugh!" He stopped, drenched from head to foot. It was amazing how much water that little pot had actually held.

He turned toward me. "What the hell was that for?!?"

Rage bubbled inside of me at his ungratefulness. "I just saved your life!"

"Saved my life?" he snorted; "You're the one who put it in danger in the first place!"

"You ungrateful brat!!!" I was about to choke him when Erika stepped in.

"That's enough," she said calmly, "Ruby, go to Nurse Joy and have her check you over; Sapphire please sit down."

I sat down and glared at Ruby as he passed by. He glared right back at me, his red eyes narrowing in disgust. I jerked back, stunned.

'Those eyes look so familiar…'

**-After School-**

I stood under an oak tree, waiting for Crys, Yellow, and Blue to come outside. As usual, I was the first one out.

'His eyes were so familiar. It's like I've seen them before…but where?'

"Hey Sapph!"

"Whoa!" I jumped, surprised to see Yellow and Crys standing next to me.

"Is something wrong?" asked Yellow, as usual, she was the first one to be concerned.

I shook my head. "Nah, just thinking."

"For once," I heard Crys mutter.

"Hey!" I turned toward Crys, just as the GR2 walked by. Well, most of them.

Red was walking next to Green, talking to him in a loud voice; pretty unusual for him. 'Must have been about the fight…' Gold was missing, but he was probably hitting on some girl somewhere else. Finally, I saw Ruby.

Part of his white hat was charred black, the black and red band also slightly burnt. His clothes looked dry now, but rumpled. He looked around, as if he realized someone was watching him. His eyes met mine.

I felt myself holding my breath as the somewhat familiar red eyes looked straight at me. 'Where have I seen those eyes...'

"Hey guys!"

I looked away to see Blue running down the steps toward us.

I waved then turned back. Ruby was walking next to Red and Green now, not looking at me anymore. It was strange how disappointed I felt.

I heard Yellow ask how Blue was and joined in the conversation. "Yeah, are you okay? I could beat up Magenta and her posse!" I was eager to forget about Ruby and the familiarity about him.

She laughed and waved off our questions, "Nah, but I'll think of something. I'll tell you when the time is right."

I was put out that I couldn't go punch Magenta's head in, but smiled at the thought of revenge.

Yellow asked Blue which house she was staying in, in a sad attempt to get us to stop thinking about revenge.

I heard Blue tell Yellow that she was in 2B; the same house we were in.

"Great! That's the same house that we're in!" I cheered, happy that our friend was going to stay with us.

Yellow nodded, "We'll show you the way there."

"You guys go ahead, I've got to go help the Professor do some stuff," said Crys, waving, and then running off.

Blue watched Crys run off. "Is she always this busy?" she asked.

"Yup, that's Crys," sighed Yellow, "If it's not school, it's helping the Professor, and if it's not helping the Professor, it's helping out at the daycare center. Sometimes I think she needs to loosen up a little."

"Like me!" I threw in.

"No, you need someone to keep you in line!" scolded Yellow.

"No I don't!" Ok, so I was failing in a FEW classes, but at least I did well in battling.

Blue watched us argue for a while, amused, probably, by the look on her face. Finally, she stepped in.

"Um…guys? Are we going to go soon? Everyone else is gone."

Yellow and I looked around and saw Blue was right. The front of the school was totally deserted except for us three and the light was fading already.

"Sorry," Yellow said to Blue, "Let's go now."

Grabbing our bags, we started walking to house 2B.

**Blue's P.O.V.**

"Whoa…" was all I could say when we finally got to house 2B.

We were standing in the long stretch of driveway leading to the house. Trees lined the sides in perfect rows and fountains bubbled in the corners. The lawn was well kept, not a blade of grass out of place. The house itself was huge. The roof was dark blue, slanted over the bricks of the "house." There were big windows which reflected off the sunlight and were extremely shiny. Overall, it was a picture out of a storybook.

"C'mon!" yelled Sapphire, way ahead of Yellow and me already.

Yellow sighed and we ran to catch up with Sapph.

**-Inside-**

"Holy Arceus…"

The inside of the "house" was just as big and beautiful as the outside. The floor was a cool marble with a swirly pattern in different shades. The walls were a cream color and the window drapes were blue. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting sparkles of light over us. The house was so big; my house from Sevii could fit in here easily.

"Pretty sweet, huh?" Sapph said after a few minutes.

"Yeah," I nodded, "Are all the houses this big?"

Yellow shook her head. "No, some are this big, but most are a bit smaller."

"How do they decide who lives where?"

Sapphire laughed. "Haven't you learned anything today, Blue? Everything here is decided on your status or relatives."

I raised an eyebrow, "I don't have any rich relatives."

"Yeah, but you have connections. Your parents know Prof. Oak pretty well, don't they?"

"I guess…" Had my parents known the Professor that well? I obviously didn't.

"What about you guys? How do you guys have "status"?" I asked Yellow and Sapph.

"My dad is Prof. Birch," Sapph answered.

I felt my jaw drop. "You're Prof. Birch's daughter? The Professor of Hoenn's daughter?"

Sapph nodded. "Yup, no one seems to believe me though…"

"What about you?" I asked Yellow; still shocked about finding out who Sapph was related to.

Yellow looked uncomfortable then muttered, "Gold…"

I thought I couldn't be more surprised. Wrong. Once again, my jaw dropped.

"You're related to Gold?!?"

"Gold is my cousin," she said, "That's why our eyes are similar colored."

"You're kidding." But I could tell she wasn't. Yellow's face had a serious expression that didn't fit her at all.

"No, I'm not kidding."

"Okay…how come you didn't talk to Gold then?"

Yellow looked down again, scuffing her feet against the marble. "We're not really close."

I must have looked confused, because she said, "My mom and my aunt didn't get along."

"Didn't…?"

"My mom is dead."

I gasped, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

Yellow's eyes began to water, but she continued, "It's fine…My mom and dad both died when I was really little. Dad was a fisherman and mom came from a wealthy family. Somehow, they met and fell in love, but mom's parents didn't like it. Mom and dad eloped and I was born. That was the last straw for mom's parents and they disowned her. My parents died in a boating accident when I was about four, so my Uncle Wilson, from dad's side, adopted me. Later Gold's mom tried to get me to come live with them, but I refused. Why would I go live with people who had disowned my mom? Anyways, my aunt (Gold's mom) said she'd pay for my tuition fee to come here. She said I shouldn't let my art talent go to waste. Uncle Wilson said I should come here too; saying mom and dad would've wanted me to. So I agreed and now I'm here."

I stood listening to Yellow's sad tale and went over to hug her. She stood, crying into my shoulder. Yellow didn't deserve to lose her parents. I felt sad at the thought of losing my parents again.

"So that's why you and Gold aren't close?" I asked gently after Yellow composed herself.

"Yeah…Gold's mom was my mom's sister. After mom's parents died, Auntie tried to ask me to forgive her…but I can't. Not yet anyways. She didn't stand up for mom and stop my grandparents from disowning her or helping mom and dad. She keeps trying; sending me gifts, money, and other things, but she's not there for me like Uncle Wilson is."

I hugged her again. "I'm sorry for your losses and for having you tell me all this."

She shook her head and gave me a watery smile. "No, you would have found out sooner or later."

"Are you guys done yet?" interrupted a voice.

We both turned. Sapph stood there licking a popsicle, probably from a random maid or butler.

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked, watching her drip red-orange drops on the floor.

She shrugged. "I've heard it before. Can we show you the rest of the house now?"

I was a little shocked at her insensitivity but Yellow stepped in. "Yeah, lead the way Sapph."

"Sapph's like that. She hides her true feelings and doesn't really show them too often," Yellow whispered as we went up the stairs.

After climbing four flights of stairs, we turned right, then left. In front of us stood a door with the word, "Blue" stamped on it in gold lettering.

"Ready to be dazzled again?" Sapph said, grinning at me.

I raised my eyebrow and nodded. I seriously doubted I could be any more surprised after everything I'd found out today.

Sapph pushed the door open with flourish and stepped inside. Yellow and I followed after.

"OH MY ARCEUS!!!"

The room was huge. The floor was a soft, baby-blue carpet with a slightly darker blue wall. The drapes were pink. There was a flat screen TV. attached to the wall across from my queen size bed, which was across from the door. The latest stereo systems stood next to the TV. and game controllers lay in front of them neatly. A large bookcase, stuffed with pokemon books and magazines were to the left of the bed, next to an office sized desk equipped with a laptop. Two doors were on the wall to the right of the bed. I ran over to the closer one and pulled it open.

A walk-in closet lay in front of me as I opened the door. All my clothes were hung up neatly, probably by the maids. Still more clothes hung on the rack, along with pairs of shoes, and drawers of accessories that didn't belong to me.

"Whose things are those?" I asked, as Yellow and Sapph came up behind me, their expressions clearly amused.

"Yours silly!" laughed Yellow.

"No way! Those don't belong to me!"

Sapph nodded firmly. "The school gives students a new wardrobe every semester. You can choose what you like, if you don't like the ones in here."

I fingered a rose colored skirt. "Wow, the school really is rich…"

"C'mon, you haven't seen the best part!"

I laughed. What more could there be?

Sapph pushed the drapes aside to one of the "windows." Then she turned a handle and pulled it. A door swung open and we ran outside.

I had a balcony! I looked around; the view was awesome. I could see miles of woods in every direction with occasional spots of blue, either lakes or streams. Looking down I could see a battling arena and many plants and trees.

"Seriously, this place is rich."

Yellow nodded, "It took me a while to get used to it too."

"So this is what it's like to be rich…" I had always longed to be wealthy like most of the students here. At one point, I was this rich; through scheming and stealing. I winced. Now was not the time to think about _that _part of my life.

"What's wrong?"

I looked to my left. Yellow was giving me her concerned look again.

"Nothing; hey, wasn't there another door?" I said, changing the subject. I walked back into my huge room and opened the other door, beside the closet.

"Wow…Even the bathroom's nice…"

The bathroom was mainly teal and aquamarine. There was a sink, a toilet, and yet another door. I turned the handle, pushing it open. In front of me was a huge bathtub, big enough to be counted as a small swimming pool; a shower, and another door.

'What's up with all the doors…?' Again, I walked over and opened the door.

In front of me was a bathroom similar to mine, but with more shades of green than blue. Oh yeah, and another door.

'Ok…now this is weird…'

I pushed open the door. I stood there, looking inside a bedroom that was slightly bigger than mine. The color scheme here seemed to be green. Mint green, hunter green, etc. I turned to Yellow and Sapph.

"Who lives here?"

Yellow and Sapph both shrugged.

"No one yet, we're supposed to be getting four more house mates by tomorrow or the day after," said Yellow.

"Yeah; you're going to have to share the bathroom with whoever comes to live in this room. Just like we have to share with whoever likes in the rooms next to ours," added Sapph.

"Where are your rooms?"

"Mine is below yours, Crys' is below mine, and Sapph's is below Crys'," answered Yellow.

"Why do I have the highest floor?" I asked jokingly.

"You came the latest! Besides you're older than us, so if there's a fire, we can get out faster!" said Sapph.

I laughed. "Fine. What are we going to do now?"

"Um…well, it's 6:30, so we should probably go to the cafeteria. They serve dinner between 6 to 8," said Yellow.

"Yeah, I'm hungry! I want noodles!" Sapph started out the room quickly.

Yellow sighed. "But you just ate a Popsicle! How can you still be hungry?"

"I get hungry easily!"

Already Sapph's voice was way ahead of us. Yellow sighed again and we ran after her.

**-The Next Day-**

**Crystal's P.O.V.**

"Miltank is an all female species, while is Tauros is its all male counterpart."

I scribbled down what Professor Hastings continued to lecture about single gender species.

Suddenly the door opened and most of the class turned. In walked a boy with light-brown hair, nothing remarkable, carrying a note.

He handed the note to the Professor and walked back out.

"Crystal."

I looked up. The Professor said, "Go to the office. Take your things."

I stuffed my books and pencil case into my bag, grabbed the note, and walked out the door.

**-In the office-**

"I'm here to see the Professor," I said to the secretary sitting behind the desk in the office.

She looked up from filing her nails and stared at me. "…Wait in the first door down the hall to the left."

"Thank you."

I opened the door and walked into the room. It was a plain white room, with a painting of a meadow, a desk, a door, and three chairs. In one of the chairs sat Ruby. I walked over to the chair next to him and sat down.

I waited, and waited; and waited.

Finally, I couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Do you know why we're here?" I turned towards Ruby. He shrugged, continuing to stare blankly at a wall.

"Click-!"

In walked Professor Oak from the door I hadn't come through.

"Sorry for making you wait a bit!"

I felt my eye twitch. "It's fine…" I managed to say.

"Now you're probably wondering why you're here." Ruby and I nodded.

"Well, I've called you here to be tutors."

Ruby stood up. "No thanks. I have more important things to do then to teach someone."

"Wait a minute." Ruby stood still. "Sit down." He sat.

"Your father," I noticed Ruby's face darken. "said it would be good for you to learn how to get along and teach others."

"Fine," Ruby said stiffly.

"What about you Crystal? Will you help tutor someone?"

I nodded. I didn't really have anything better to do, plus I had already been teaching the little kids at the daycare center.

"How old will our tutees be?" I asked.

"They'll be your age."

Again, I nodded. It would definitely be a change from my regular charges then.

"Are you ready to meet them now?"

I looked up. "Right now?"

The Prof. nodded.

Ruby shrugged. "Okay," I said.

The Prof. stood up from behind the desk and gestured us to follow him through the door he'd come through.

We walked into the room and saw…

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**A/N: **Well, good, bad, alright? What'd you think of Yellow's relative? Once again, sorry if this ch. was boring; it will get better, I promise! I'll update when I get two (or more) reviews, so please review!


	6. Of Tutors and Roommates

Hi guys! I'm so so so sorry for not updating!!! (I was on vacation so I barely had any internet access...) So without further ado, here's the sixth ch. of "The Thin Line Between Love and Hate!"

**Disclaimer**: Nope, Pokemon isn't mine.

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**Crystal's P.O.V.**

"Crys!"

"Ruby!"

Running toward me, full speed, was Sapph.

"You're my tutor?" she said, excitedly, "And I thought I was going to be stuck with some stuck-up snob!"

On the other side of the room, Gold was talking to Ruby in an audible voice.

"Good thing you're my tutor! It means I get to slack off and not have some serious geek lecturing me 24/7!"

"Eh-hem!"

All four of us turned toward the Professor who had been standing there.

"I'm sorry to burst your bubbles, but Sapphire, Crystal isn't your tutor; and Gold, Ruby isn't your tutor."

"Well, then who's my tutor?" asked Sapph impatiently.

The Professor stared at us, waiting for us to catch on.

Realization dawned upon Ruby and Sapph's faces at the same time.

"I have to tutor HER?!?"

"HE'S tutoring me?!?"

Professor Oak sighed. "Yes to both of your questions." He turned to me, "That means you'll be tutoring Gold. That's him by the way." He pointed at Gold, who smirked.

"We've met before," I said through gritted teeth. 'I have to tutor that rude guy?!?'

"Now, come here Crystal and Ruby," the Professor said, pulling us to the side.

"I want you to teach Gold basically everything Crystal; math, English, etc. Try to teach him the specific striking point of each Pokemon to catch them. And Ruby; Sapphire needs help in pretty much everything as well. A few lessons in etiquette wouldn't hurt either…"

"What'd you say?!?" yelled Sapph.

Professor Oak flinched, "Nothing!"

"Why do I have to be tutored anyways?" Sapph asked, glaring at Ruby.

"Your mother thought it would help, seeing as you barely passed the entrance exam. And Gold, you have to have a tutor, because you basically failed all your classes last year," Prof. Oak said, before Gold could ask.

Sapphire scowled. "But this is my first year here! How do you know I might fail?"

"I don't, but your mother does."

Sapphire continued to scowl, Ruby looked bored and slightly angry, and Gold was smiling.

"Well," Professor Oak continued now that we were all quiet, "I suggest you make a schedule of when you plan to meet."

"How often do we have to meet?" I asked.

"At least 14 hours a week, but you can break them up any way you want."

I nodded and forced my feet to walk over to Gold.

"Hey cutie!"

Taking a deep breath and forcing myself not to kick him again, I said, "When do you want to meet?"

"I can fit you in anytime," he said, winking at me. I shuddered.

"Fine. Then every day after school unless you or I have something else we have to do. We'll do the rest of the tutoring over the weekend. We can work in Prof. Elm's room."

Just then, the bell rang. "Okay, see you later cutie!" Gold called, walking out of the room with Ruby.

I sighed, then turned as Sapph came over.

"Why does HE have to tutor me?!?" Obviously, Sapph was not happy about who here tutor was.

"What's so bad about Ruby anyways?"

"He's the most conceited, self-centered, fashion-obsessed jerk I've ever met!" she yelled.

I couldn't help laughing a little. "Oh come on. It's not that bad is it?"

The answer was immediate. "Yes it is!!!"

"Well, let's go look for Blue and Yellow, they'll be wondering where we are."

Sapph nodded and we walked out of the room.

**Green's P.O.V.**

"Why didn't you stop them?!?"

I sighed for the thirtieth time in fifteen minutes. Red would not shut up about me not stopping the psycho fans from bullying Blue.

"I'm just saying…" Red trailed off as Ruby and Gold walked in.

"Hey guys! What were you yelling about?" Gold asked as he grabbed a billiard cue from off the wall. We were in the room that had been specially built for us four as a "thank-you" from the school for donating so much money. It had a pool table, various arcade games, a bar (totally useless, seeing as we weren't old enough to drink), etc.

"I was yelling at Green about him and his psycho fans," Red answered.

"Oh that. Why didn't you stop them?" Ruby said, carefully inspecting the cues before selecting one.

"Yeah, you don't even know that Blue girl! Though she was pretty hot…" Gold chipped in.

I didn't respond, as I hit the cue ball. Didn't know Blue? I knew her all too well…

**-Flashback-**

"Hi, I'm Blue!"

I turned toward the voice. Perched on my grandpa's fence was a girl about my age, which would mean she was five or six. She had shoulder length brown hair and was wearing a light blue dress.

"I always see you working here, but Mommy told me not to bother you. What's your name?" she continued.

I stared at her impassively, before going back to my work.

"Hey! I asked you a question!" From the corner of my eye I saw her jump off the fence and run after me.

"What do you want?" I finally said. Blue stopped in the middle of her tracks.

"Whoa! You DO talk!"

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. 'Obviously I can talk. I just don't want to!'

"Anyways, what's your name?" Blue asked, recovering from her shock.

"Green," I said shortly, before continuing to fill up the food bowls for the various Pokemon.

"That's a nice name," she said, watching a pair of Nidoran run to the food. "Aw…they're so cute. I wish I had my own Pokemon."

I continued pouring food, hoping she would go away; and knowing she wouldn't.

"Hey Green, do you have your own Pokemon?"

I pointed at my Scyther who was leaning against a tree, napping.

"Eh? That's your Pokemon? He's really big for someone your age!"

I felt my eye twitch at her comment. 'Do I really look that young?' "And how old are you?" I said, displeased with Blue.

"I'm five!" she answered cheerfully.

"Well, so am I, but I don't see you with any Pokemon."

She looked surprised. "You're five? When's you're birthday?"

"November 22nd."

"Ha! I'm still older than you! My birthday's June 1st."

Annoyed, I went back to filling the bowls.

"Do you need help with that?" Without waiting for an answer, she rushed over and tried to grab the heavy bag of Pokemon food from me.

I refused to let go. "I don't need help."

"Yes you do! You can't do all of this by yourself. You're not old enough!"

Now I was really certain that I didn't want her to help. "No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

We continued pulling the bag back and forth. I could feel it stretching under the pressure.

"You're ripping it! Let go!" she cried.

"You let go!"

Before either of us could let go, it ripped. The food flew everywhere, all over the ground, in the grass, on me, and on Blue.

I was furious. "Now look what you did!"

All I heard in response was laughter. I turned to look at Blue.

"That tickles!" She was giggling as various Pokemon from Nidoran to Caterpie licked the food off of her.

"Oi! Didn't you hear what I said? You made me waste all the Poke food, pesky girl!"

She waved a hand at me, "It doesn't matter. Just look around you, the Pokemon are being fed!"

I looked. Sure enough, all the Pokemon were running around, munching up the food happily. Some had even come up to eat the pieces of food on me.

"This is much more fun than how you were feeding them before," Blue commented. She reached down to stroke a vulpix at her feet, still smiling.

And for the first time since my parents had died…I felt myself smile.

**-End Flashback-**

"Oh yeah! I win again!"

I broke out of my thoughts at Gold's shout.

"You've been standing there like an idiot for the past ten minutes, and you still haven't answered the question," Red said.

I frowned, watching Gold run past, pumping his fist in the air.

"Let's go, I told Grandpa we'd meet him at five." I turned and walked toward the door. Then I turned back.

"And Gold. Don't cheat next time."

Gold stopped, jaw dropped. Red ran over to the pool table and grabbed the cue ball, carefully wiping it off. It turned out to be Ataro, Gold's Aipom, inside a Pokeball.

"Gold!!!"

I walked out the room, satisfied that I wouldn't have to answer Red's question and that Gold was going to get beaten up for cheating.

**-outside-**

"Hello boys!"

"Hey Grandpa," I muttered as the others greeted my grandfather.

He nodded to all of us. "Unfortunately, I have some bad news…"

I raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"You know how you guys have been waiting for your housing arrangements?" We nodded. "Well, they came."

He stopped. "And?" said Gold, gesturing for Grandpa to continue.

"There's been a mix-up."

"What?!? You mean we won't get our own personal house this year?" yelled Red.

"No. You'll be sharing a house with four others."

Red's eye twitched. "But what about the fans? They'll follow us to the new place! They're crazy! CRAZY!!!"

Surprisingly, Grandpa smiled. "Don't worry. We've chosen the least possible place they'll ever think of. We're here!"

The four of us looked out of the car we'd been riding in, surprised. It was a nice looking house, simpler than the ones we normally stayed in. We all got out of the car and started up the driveway.

"Your suitcases have already been sent up to your rooms. You just have to meet your roommates, so be nice," he added sternly.

Then he turned away from us and opened the door. "Your new roommates are here! Come and meet them!!!"

I heard someone walking toward us. Grandpa ushered us into the room, closing the door.

"New roommates?" Somehow, the voice sounded familiar…

I turned as a small group of people walked in.

"YOU?!?"

"YOU?!?"

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**A/N**: Ok...not much action in this ch., but! There will be more action in the next ch.! (Sorry for the very predictable cliffhangers.) I promise it won't take me so long to update next ch.! Please read and review(reviews make me smile!)!!!

P.S. I'll be posting the sequel to "Something More" soon for those who wanted to know, so look out for it!


	7. A Jigglypuff Never Forgets

Hi everyone! Thank you for all the reviews last time, they made me happy that you guys are reading (and enjoying) this story. Anyways...this ch. actually isn't as action packed as I said it was going to be in the last ch., but I promise (and yes, I'm going to keep this promise) that the next ch. will be ACTION-PACKED!!! Now, onto the story!

**Disclaimer**: Ha! Pokemon beloning to me? That's a good one...

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**Blue's P.O.V.**

"Your new roommates are here! Come and meet them!!!"

I looked up from my English essay when I heard Professor Oak's voice call out from the front room.

"What's going on?" muttered Sapph groggily as she stumbled into the living room, rubbing her eyes. She had been napping in one of the other living rooms while I'd been doing my homework.

"New roommates?"

Immediately, she perked up. "Then why are we standing around here? Let's go see who we're rooming with!"

We walked quickly to the front room, Sapph expertly weaving her way through the rooms while I concentrated on not getting lost. Finally, we found the room and walked in.

"YOU?!?"

"YOU?!?"

Both cries came from Ruby and Sapph who stood pointing at each other accusingly.

Standing near Ruby were Gold, Red, Green, and Professor Oak. They looked confused by Ruby and Sapph.

"What's going on?"

We all turned as Crys and Yellow came down the steps. I noticed Gold grin when he saw Crys. Crys on the other hand, frowned.

"What's going on?" she repeated as she and Yellow reached us. "Professor, why are you and they (her eyes quickly shifted on Gold, before looking away) here?"

"Yeah, why is _he_ in here?" Sapph snapped, glaring at Ruby.

The Professor sighed. "Unfortunately as I was telling the boys before; there's been a mix-up in the housing."

"WHAT?!?" Sapph, Crys, and I yelled at the same time. Yellow looked too shocked to speak.

"Yes, a mix-up." The Professor continued, "Under normal circumstances, K.E.P.A. would never have male and female students rooming together, but somehow the computers slipped up…"

Crys looked puzzled. "But Professor, K.E.P.A.'s technology is one of the finest in all of Kanto. There's no way the computers could have messed up."

Professor Oak frowned, "Yes, we are looking into it…but in the meantime, you'll just have to room together!"

"No way am I going to room with him!" yelled Sapph.

"Like I want to room with you?" snorted Ruby. Sapph growled before launching herself at Ruby.

Professor Oak stepped in between them. "Stop this at once! Is this really how some of K.E.P.A.'s most elite students act? You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Both Ruby and Sapph backed away from each other.

The Professor nodded, satisfied. "Alright, now that that's settled, let's move on to business. Red you'll room on the same floor as Yellow, Gold with Crystal, Ruby with Sapphire (both of them opened their mouths to protest, but he continued), and Green, you'll room on the same floor as Blue."

"What? Can't I room on the same floor as Yellow? Or Crys? Sapph?" I asked desperately. Green also looked stunned by the Professor's decision.

"No Blue. It's been decided already whom you'll room with. And don't even think of changing your rooms, we (meaning the staff) will be checking in often to make sure you're in the right rooms," he added.

Sapph frowned, "How come we can't change our roommates?"

The Professor sighed, "It's not my choice, but the principal is a little…odd; and it's his decision."

All of us were frowning except Green whose face was impassive and Yellow and Red who just looked confused.

"Anyways-!" he said, clapping his hands to ease the tension in the room, "I'll leave you to settle in and get acquainted to each other. Bye!" With that, the Professor dashed out of the house, not wanting to be caught in the awkwardness any longer.

Silence.

"Okay…I'm going to go see what my room looks like!" said Gold, running off quickly up the stairs.

"Me too!" Red added, relieved to find an excuse to leave.

Green didn't say anything, choosing to walk out of the room in silence. (He didn't go upstairs, though.)

After throwing one last glare at Ruby, Sapph went back to the living room, probably to resume her nap. Yellow and Crys drifted away, whispering to each other about their roommates. Ruby sighed, nodded at me and followed Red and Gold's trail upstairs.

Echoing Ruby's sigh, I went back to finish my report.

**-1 hr. later-**

I stretched, feeling the satisfying pull of unused muscle being reawakened. Pulling out a Pokeball from my bag, I tossed it gently on the ground.

There was a flash of light, followed by the familiar figure of a Wigglytuff.

"Wiggly?" she said, cocking her head in confusion. I giggled at her cute expression.

"Nope, we aren't in Sevii anymore Puriri," I said, using the nickname I'd given her, "We're at K.E.P.A."

Puriri stared at me then nodded. I'd already explained to all my Pokemon when we were still on Sevii that we (my Pokemon and I) were going to go to Kanto.

"I haven't had a chance to really explore here yet…let's look around." Puriri nodded again, leading the way out of the room and into the gardens through one of the many doors.

I blinked, my eyes not yet accustomed to the setting sunlight. 'It must be later then I thought it was.' Blinking a few times, I saw Puriri skipping happily in front of me, chasing a Butterfree.

"Don't wander off too far," I called out, when we'd been walking for about half an hour.

She looked at me then cocked her head, as if she were listening to something. Before I could stop her, Puriri dashed off into the bushes.

"Wait! Puriri, come back here!" I cried, running after her.

I pushed by way through the bushes, snapping off leafy branches and scaring away various Pokemon. I could just make out the little puff of fur on Puriri's head. Suddenly, she turned left, out of my view. I also turned, and heard a loud noise.

'What the hell was that?' As I got closer to Puriri, the noises got louder.

Finally, after pushing aside one last branch, I came to a large clearing. With a start, I realized it was a Pokemon battling field. And standing right in the middle of the field was Puriri!

"Puriri, get back here!" Just as I was about to run over and grab her, I saw a red shape flash by on the field.

Squinting, I could just make out the form of a Scizor. It flew back and forth quickly to avoid attacks. I quickly tried to recall Puriri into her Pokeball.

"Return Puriri!" A sudden cry startled me at that very moment, causing me to miss Puriri completely.

"Pidgeot!!!"

I turned to see a large Pidgeot, wings glowing, heading straight at Puriri who stood frozen in fear.

Knowing that Puriri would be in trouble if I didn't act fast, I tried to think about what to do, but I blanked out. The similar cry and the same beady eyes… I found myself, like Puriri, frozen as I stared at the fast-approaching Pidgeot.

"Pidgeot, stop."

The massive bird spread his wings out even further and at the last second, swooped upward, narrowly missing Puriri.

"Puriri," I managed to gasp, still shaking with fear at the close call.

Instead of running to me as I'd expected her to, Puriri rushed to the opposite side behind a large tree, squealing.

"Huh? Puriri?" I jogged over shakily to the tree.

Standing hidden behind the tree and patting Puriri on the head was Green! He looked up at me calmly while I stood there gaping like an idiot.

I managed to force out a few words, "What are you doing here?"

"I was battling my Pokemon," he said simply.

"You mean those two are yours?"

He nodded. The Pidgeot swooped down and perched on a branch while the Scizor leaned against another tree nearby.

"Pidgeot and Scizor," he said, gesturing vaguely at both. I nodded slightly to the Pidgeot who let out a cry while spreading out its wings. Green, probably noticing my discomfort, recalled Pidgeot into his Pokeball.

"Tuff!"

We both turned to see Puriri pulling on the Scizor's claw. The Scizor looked down at Puriri and gave her a stern look. Puriri waved at me to come over.

Smiling, I walked over to them. The Scizor turned to look at me and his eyes widened. He looked at Green and pointed a claw at me. Green nodded slightly.

"What?" I asked in an annoyed tone.

"Nothing." Green bent down to pet Wigglytuff as I looked over at his Scizor.

I'd never seen such a Pokemon on Sevii, but the way he looked at me and his eyes, reminded me of something that I couldn't place my finger on…

**Green's P.O.V.**

Watching Blue observe (and not recognize) Scizor made me realize that she couldn't remember her childhood at all. Sure Scizor had evolved, but he was still the same Scyther he was inside, just as Blue's Wigglytuff was still the same Jigglypuff.

"Wiggly?"

I looked down at Puriri (as Blue now called her) and smiled sadly. "At least you still remember me."

**-flashback-**

"Hi Green!"

I sighed. As usual, Blue had shown up unannounced and uninvited. And, as usual, I tried to ignore her.

"Greeeeen! You never say hi, you big meanie!" She pouted as I rolled my eyes. She brightened though, when she spotted a mother Wigglytuff and her baby Jigglypuff. (**A/N**: Igglybuff did no exist duing this time, it was before the GSC arc so yeah...)

"Awww! They're so cute," she squealed. Then she noticed the littlest Jigglypuff struggling to keep up with its mother and siblings.

"Wait, what's wrong with that one?" she asked, pulling on my sleeve.

Frowning, I looked at it. The Wigglytuff had stopped and so had her children, except for the littlest one who wasn't paying attention, so it to run into its siblings. This caused a domino effect as all the Jigglypuff bumped into each other and finally into their mother. She turned and scowled at it, before walking on. The Jigglypuff's siblings all kicked it and ran after their mother.

The little Jigglypuff sat there with tears in its eyes. Blue picked it up, whispering to it soothingly.

"Why were they so mean to it?" she asked.

"It is actually a she. And they were mean to her because she's the runt of the litter."

Blue looked confused. "That means that she's the weakest and smallest one. Her mother probably rejected her," I explained.

"So what's going to happen to her?"

I was quiet for a moment. "…This Jigglypuff requires special care, like hourly feedings, grooming, etc. Grandpa, Daisy, and I don't have the time to handle all that and everything else. If Grandpa can't find someone to take care of her…we might have to put her to sleep."

"Put her to sleep? What's so bad about that?" Inwardly, I smacked my head. This girl was truly naive.

I stared straight at Blue. "I mean, permanently. Putting her to sleep forever."

Blue gasped. "You can't do that! You're supposed to take care of Pokemon forever! Not kill them! Mommy told me that's the Professor's job!"

"Well, we can't take care of all the Pokemon! She doesn't have a trainer or a family. It she doesn't have either of those then she can't stay here! We just don't have the time or space!" I yelled, frustrated, "Besides, if this Jigglypuff was in the wild, she'd already be dead!"

After I'd said this, I'd realized I'd gone too far. Blue's eyes welled up with tears as she put Jigglypuff down and ran off.

I groaned. Maybe Daisy was right. Maybe I did need to make some friends and learn to "communicate" better.

"Puff."

I looked down to see the Jigglypuff pulling on my pant leg. "What do you want?"

"Jiggly. Puff," she said, pointing a paw in the direction Blue had ran off in.

Suddenly, an idea hit me like a ton of bricks. Picking up Jigglypuff (who looked surprised), I ran to Grandpa's lab.

"Grandpa!" He turned around in confusion.

"Yes Green?"

I panted, "I've found an owner for Jigglypuff."

"Really? That's wonderful!" He smiled at me. "Who?"

"That girl who lives down the street, Blue." Grandpa looked at me strangely.

"I thought you disliked that girl."

I chose to ignore the question. "Whether I dislike Blue isn't really the question. I think she would be a good trainer for Jigglypuff."

Grandpa turned around and around in his swivel chair. Then he stopped and looked me straight in the eye. "Are you certain?"

"Yes." Even though I was only six, Grandpa still trusted my intuition on such matters. I'd been training and raising my Scyther so that it was one of the best Pokemon in Grandpa's yard.

"Alright then." After a quick examination of Jigglypuff, he told me to go give her to Blue.

"Goodbye Jigglypuff. I'm sorry you couldn't stay here," he said, patting her on the head.

I picked up Jigglypuff and jogged down the road to Blue's house. I'd never been there before, but Blue had described it a countless amount of times, so I was able to pick it out quite easily.

"Ready to meet your new owner?" Jigglypuff simply looked up at me with her large eyes.

Taking her silence as a yes, I walked up to the door and knocked. A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a similar face as Blue's opened the door.

"Yes?" she said.

"Is Blue here?" I asked in my most polite voice.

She smiled, "Oh, you must be Green! Blue's told us so much about you! Please come in."

I went inside as she closed the door. "Her room is the first door to the right, you can't miss it," she told me, then sighed, "She was slightly upset though…"

"I think I have the perfect way to cheer her up." That's when Blue's mother noticed Jigglypuff.

"Such a cute Pokemon. …Is it for Blue?"

I nodded and asked hesitantly, "Can Blue keep her?"

Blue's mother smiled sadly. "Yes, thank you. Blue needs a companion. She's been lonely lately, which is probably why she goes to visit your Grandfather's ranch. But I've kept you too long. Please, go upstairs." She ushered me up the stairs.

I knocked softly on the door.

"Come in."

I pushed open the door and walked in. Blue's room was what could be described as a typical little girl's room. The walls were pink, the bed was pink, and basically everything was pink. Jigglypuff blended right in. She squealed happily and bounced over to Blue, the only thing that wasn't pink in the room.

"What are you doing here?" Blue asked coldly. (A HUGE change from her normal personality.)

"I came to give you something."

She looked confused. "What?"

"You're holding her right now."

Blue now looked confused, before she realized what I was talking about. She stared at Jigglypuff for a moment, then, "You're giving me Jigglypuff?!?"

I nodded.

Tears welled up in her eyes again. But this time, they were tears of joy. "T-Thank you," she stuttered out, hugging Jigglypuff gently. "Thank you."

**-end flashback-**

"Green…Green…GREEN!!!"

"Wha-?" I blinked and saw Blue with her face only a foot away from mine. I backed away and blushed.

She frowned, "Are you okay? You were spacing out or something and now you're all red."

"Yeah, I'm okay." She didn't believe me though, because she placed a hand right onto my forehead. I shivered slightly at her soft touch and backed away even further.

"I said I'm fine."

"Well, sorry Mr. Insensitive! I'm only trying to help!" She stormed off to Puriri.

I reached out and caught her hand, causing her to look down and blush. "Look, I'm sorry. I have a lot on my mind." 'And all of it's about you.'

"Okay…let's get back to the house," she said, recalling Puriri.

I recalled my Scisor and walked after her. "Thanks for being concerned," I said.

"It's nothing. I'm nice to everyone, even if they are big JERKS!" she added mischievously.

"Whatever…pesky girl," I said quietly. She turned, "What'd you say?"

"Nothing."

And we continued on back to the house silently.

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**A/N:** Now you guys are probably like, "WTF?!? He gave her Jigglypuff and she can't remember him?!?" but all shall be revealed in time, my dear readers. Be patient. And sorry about the flashbacks...but they are a vital part of the story. Anyways, please review, it brightens my day (which I need considering my huge workload...), so please review!


	8. First Night pt1

Hi people! Sorry this update is a liitle late, but it's better than nothing I guess. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter and REVIEW!!! Your feedback is very much appreciated! Oh, and please read the **IMPORTANT** notice at the bottem, thanks!

**Disclaimer**: No, pokemon isn't mine...

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**Red's P.O.V.**

I was sitting on my bed when I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," I called out. Ruby walked in the room with an annoyed look on his face.

"What?" I asked.

He answered me tonelessly, "I hate this place."

"It's not so bad." The room I'd been assigned was only slightly smaller than the ones I had for the past three years. The walls were a light red color (which I liked), the curtains were mint green, and there were still the latest books, electronics, etc. Overall, it was alright.

Ruby glared at me. "For you maybe! But you're not living next to a crazy maniac!!!"

I laughed. "Crazy? Come on, you know the fan girls are at least a hundred times crazier."

"Yeah, well, you're living next to Yellow's cousin, who's not a PSYCHO!!!"

I shrugged. From what I had seen and heard (which wasn't much) of Yellow, she seemed like a pretty gentle girl. She looked kind, a bit on the quiet side, but I had never talked to her personally, so I couldn't really judge how she was.

"Did I hear something about my older cousin?"

Both Ruby and I turned. Gold was leaning against my door frame in his "cool" pose.

"Cut the crap Gold," Ruby said impatiently.

Gold pretended to be hurt, then asked, "What's with the pissy attitude?"

"I don't know." Ruby sighed and rubbed the side of his head. "For some reason the crazy reminds me of someone, but I can't remember who!"

Gold raised his eyebrows at me in confusion. I mouthed 'Sapphire' and he nodded with an 'oh.'

"Anyways-! You guys got your eye on anyone this year?" Gold said.

"Way to change the subject Gold, way to change the subject…" Ruby rolled his eyes.

"What? It's not like you're going to remember who she is right now. And I'm curious. You (meaning me) and Green never seem to go out with anyone, even though you have all those fan girls!"

I shook my head, "Those girls are creepy. They follow us EVERYWHERE. EVERYWHERE!!! I swear, THEY are crazy!"

Gold and Ruby just laughed at me. "What about you Mr. Player?" I said to Gold.

"Me?" Gold smirked, "I got my eye on one girl this year."

I looked at him skeptically. "Only one? Who's the lucky girl?"

"Super-serious gal."

Ruby and I both looked puzzled because he added, "Pigtails…lives next door to me…?"

"Crystal?"

Gold nodded, smirking. All I could think of to say was, "Poor girl…"

We all jumped a little as the clock hanging over my desk chimed six times.

"Six o'clock already? That means dinner time!" With that Gold jogged out of the room as suddenly as he had come in. Ruby and I sighed at his enthusiasm before following him out.

**Yellow's P.O.V.**

"Hi Blue," Crys said.

I turned in my chair to see Blue walk over to our table, holding onto a tray of food.

"Hey guys," she responded cheerfully, "So…what'd you think of your roommates?"

"AWFUL!!!" Sapph snapped through a mouthful of sandwich.

"Swallow first Sapph," I said gently.

Sapph gulped down her huge mouthful before repeating, "Awful!" Then she took another large bite angrily.

Crys, Blue, and I sweatdropped and inched a little away from her.

"What's wrong with Ruby?" Blue asked.

"He is the most self-obsessed freak I've ever met! And that's saying something in this school filled with freaks! All he cares about is fashion. He called me a wild girl! Not only is he my tutor, now he's my roommate!!!" She growled in frustration. "What about you guys? What are your roommates like?"

Blue shrugged. "Green is Green. He was all silent and moody when I tried to talk to him. What about you guys?"

Crys' eye was twitching, "That guy is so annoying. I've never met someone who is just so …" She didn't finish her sentence and turned to me, "No offense Yellow."

"You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family," I said, wrinkling my nose at the thought of my "dear" cousin.

"Well Yellow, what's Red like?" Blue asked, looking at me intently. I was a bit surprised by how interested she seemed in Red, but decided to ignore it for now.

I thought for a moment. I didn't really know what Red was like. After Crys and I had left the front room, I had gone upstairs and seen Red standing in front of his door.

-**flashback**-

"Yellow?"

I turned. Red was standing a few feet away from me, near his door. Oddly enough, I hadn't noticed him at all when I had gone upstairs.

"Your name's Yellow, right?" I nodded. "My name's Red, nice to meet you."

He offered his hand and I shook it. We continued to shake and shake and shake…until the moment felt very awkward.

"Um…It's nice to meet you too Red-san."

He frowned slightly. "You don't have to be so formal. Just call me Red."

"Ok, Red-sa…Red."

He smiled at me and I flushed a little at how kind it was.

**-end of flashback-**

"So you didn't learn anything about him?" I shook my head, noting how disappointed Blue seemed.

"Oh well! There's still time," she said.

Crys looked at Blue suspiciously. "Time for what?"

"Nothing…" Blue said mysteriously.

Crys and I looked at her, wondering what she was up to, while Sapph continued to shove food down into the endless pit that was her stomach.

We all jumped slightly when the loud bell rang, signaling the end of dinner (except, of course, Sapph who was STILL trying to stuff a few more cookies down her throat. I marvel at her huge appetite that totally counters her physical appearance.)

"I will never get used to that bell," Blue said after a slight pause.

"You get used to it after a couple of days…or weeks." Crys picked up her tray, shaking her head at the maid who had come forth to help, and walked over to the trash can to throw her garbage away.

The rest of us follow suit before walking out the door, headed for house 2B.

"Ready for our first night with our new roommates?" Blue asks.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Sapph sighs. Crys and I nodded as well.

It can't be that bad, can it?

**Crystal's P.O.V.**

"AND STAY OUT OF MY ROOM!" I screamed as I slammed the door and locked it. Then I sat down on my bed with a huff.

Wondering what just happened? Well, it went like this…

-**flashback**-

"Hmm…which shampoo should I use…" I mused to myself silently.

I was sitting in the swimming pool-sized bathtub pondering which of the many (hundreds) shampoos to use. As I sat there, I realized I could hear a clicking sound coming from the door opposite mine.

"Wha…?" I got out of the bathtub, wrapped a towel around myself and tiptoed to my bag, which was sitting near the tub.

**Normal P.O.V.**

On the other side of the door from which Crys had heard the noises, was Gold.

Currently, he was squatting in front of the door leading to the bathroom, which meant he was in his restroom (The room with the sink and toilet). His Typhlosion, Explotaro, looked on in a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"Typhlo. Ty-ty-phloshion?" Which roughly translated to, "_Gold. What the hell are you doing?"_

Gold jumped, before turning to Explotaro. "Shit! Don't do that! And be quiet," he hissed at his Typhlosion.

"Phlosion?" "_Why?"_

"Because I'm trying to pick this door and I don't want Crystal to hear."

Explotaro sat on his haunches for a moment, pondering why Gold would want to break in and invade Crystal's personal privacy. When he came to his conclusion, he made a disgusted face.

"Pho! Typho phlo!" "_Ew! Gold's a pervert!"_

"I am not a pervert! I'm just an average 15-year old guy!"

This did not stop Explotaro from running around the restroom chanting "Typho pholo! Typho pholo!" or "_Gold is a pervert! Gold is a pervert!"_

"Shut up!" Picking up a convenient bar of soap that just happened to be lying on the floor, Gold chucked it at Explotaro.

The poor Pokemon never saw it coming. The innocent bar of soap flew through the air, straight towards its target, Explotaro's head. Since it came from behind him, Explotaro had no idea what hit him and was immediately KO'd. (**A/N:** No Typhlosions were hurt in the making of the chapter. It's just the author's sick imagination...continue reading.)

Satisfied that Expotaro was silenced for a moment, Gold turned back to picking the lock.

"A little more…and…yes!" The knob turned with a "click-!" and Gold pulled the door wide open…only to be met with a fist straight into his face.

"BAM!!!" Gold flew through the air. Explotaro, who was just waking up from his minute-and-a-half coma, blinked blearily before his eyes widened. He quickly tried to get out of the way, but Gold landed straight on him, knocking him out yet again.

"What the hell were you trying to do?!?"

Gold looked up to see an angry Crystal, clad only in a towel, standing next to an equally angry looking Hitmonchan.

"Erm…not trying to sneak into the bathroom?" he offered sheepishly.

"Yeah right! Thank Arceus that I suspected you would do something this perverted and had Hitmonee out already," she said, glaring at Gold as Hitmonee did a few mock punches.

"Why does everyone call me a pervert?!? I'M NOT A PERVERT!!!"

Crystal stared at him with an expression that said 'you're kidding, right?" before marching over and yelling, "Number 1. You are a pervert. Number 2. Stay out of the bathroom. And Number 3. Stay the heck away from me!"

"Does that mean I don't have to go to tutoring?"

"Yes! I mean, no! Arrrgh!!! Just stay away from me when I'm not tutoring you!"

Gold put on a fake hurt expression. "Do you hate me that much?"

"YES!" Crys practically screamed right in Gold's face.

Gold flinched back a little then looked down and seeing as Crys was only wearing a towel…well, he got a good look of what most "average 15-year old guys" dream of.

Crys following the line of direction Gold was looking at; gasped, turned red then slapped him.

"PERVERT!!!"

"I'M NOT A PERVERT!" Gold yelled back, half of his face red where Crys had slapped him.

"YES YOU ARE A PERVERT! AND STAY OUT OF MY ROOM!!!" Crys screamed as she stormed back to her room and locked the door.

**-end of flashback-**

**Crystal's P.O.V.**

I sighed again. Based on what had just happened, this was going to be one hell of a year…

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Ok...well, I thought about putting Green/Blue, Sapphire/Ruby, and Red/Yellow's first night in this ch. but Gold/Crys' interaction seemed to be a pretty good place to stop...plus it's time for me to go to bed and I won't have any time to update other than right now, so yeah... Please review!!!

**IMPORTANT: **If any of you guys have ideas for last names for all the characters (Yellow, Blue, Red, Gold, Crys, etc. ALL OF THEM, except Green) please post them in your reviews!!! I will probably need them further in the story. Thanks!


	9. First Night pt2

Hi everyone! ...Yay! I've gotten more then 50 reviews for this story!!! Thanks to all the people who reviewed! At the rest of you...glares. Kidding. Anyways, this ch. contains subtle shippy hints...very subtle. So have fun reading and review!

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon is not mine.

**Note**: This, -_The Thin Line Between Love and Hate_-, is a section break. A SECTION break, not P.O.V. break. For instance, two/more people's P.O.V. can be in a section break. Erm...read it to understand. Just to clarify; hope you get what I mean...carry on.

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**Sapphire's P.O.V.**

"HURRY UP!" I shouted, pounding on the door.

For the last 20 minutes, I'd been standing in front of the bathroom door, yelling and pounding on it for Ruby to open the door.

"I swear girly-boy, if you don't open this door in the next 30 seconds, I'll break it down!" I yelled as a final warning.

No answer. I shrugged, it was his fault, not mine, that he didn't open the door. I backed up and counted silently in my head. One, two, three…

"CHARGE!!!!!" I ran full speed at the door with my eyes closed, braced for impact…just as the door opened.

"What the-?" was all I heard before I ran into something firm, but soft.

"Oof!" Whatever I had ran into fell down and I quickly followed.

Luckily, my fall was broken by the very thing I had run into. I opened my eyes cautiously. Had I really broken down that door? I know I'm strong, but those things are thick! I must have some serious muscle!

It turned out that I hadn't broken down the door. Instead, looking straight up at me, his face not a foot away, was Ruby. He had a look that said, "What the fuck just happened?!?"

"Uh…." I couldn't find anything to say to break the awkwardness. What made the situation even more awkward was a.) Ruby was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts and strangely enough, his hat, but no shirt. And b.) I was still laying on top of him, with my legs between his and his arms around my waist. Yeah, very awkward.

Luckily, I didn't have to think of what to say. "Why did you just attempt to break into my bathroom?" Ruby asked, looking at me strangely.

"_Your_ bathroom?" I asked accusingly, "For your information, we have to _share_ (I shuddered) this bathroom and since you weren't opening the door even after I've be yelling for 20 minutes for you to hurry up, I was going to break down the door."

He stared at me for about a second then started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

No answer. He just laughed harder and I could feel his whole body shaking with laughter since I was _still_ on top of him.

"I said, what's so funny?!?"

"You," he managed to gasp out, "…breaking down a door… You wouldn't even have enough muscle to break down a branch, let alone a door."

I raised my eyebrows, "Oh yeah? I might not have been able to break down that door, but I bet I could break your neck!!!"

With that, I sat up, grabbing his neck and squeezing as hard as I could, choking him. His laughter immediately stopped and he grabbed my wrists as we engaged in a serious battle of tug-of-war.

We continued for several minutes, him successfully freeing himself from my grasp before I would once again, lunge at him and start choking him again. Obviously I wasn't trying to kill him; I just wanted him to admit that I had the strength to break down a door. This was one fight I was not going to lose.

"Get…off…me…" he said, pulling my hands off.

"Take back what you said about me not being able to break down a door!"

"No way!" he yelled. I had to admit, this guy had a hell of a lot of pride and he wasn't going to give up easily.

I grabbed him once more, but he managed to roll away. I sprang at him and tackled him, pinning him down.

"Give up! There's no way you could win!" I yelled.

"Excuse me…Oh!"

We both looked toward the door I had barged in from. A maid stood there, looking shocked. I looked down and realized we were in a position best suited behind closed doors. Once again, Ruby was on his back, but he was propped up on his elbows while I had grabbed onto his shoulders and my legs were partially wrapped around his waist. Both of us were breathing heavily, Ruby's hat was askew, and my hair was probably pretty messed up.

"Um…I'm sorry for interrupting you! I heard noises outside and thought you might need my assistance, so please excuse me!" The red-faced nurse rushed out of the room after bowing to us repeatedly.

"Could you get off me now?" Ruby asked. I complied, jumping up onto my feet quickly.

He stood up more slowly, picking up a plain black shirt and slipping it on. Then he looked straight at me.

"Let's agree _never _to ever tell anyone about this, deal?" he said, holding out his hand.

"Deal." We shook hands, letting go quickly. "Now will you get out so I can finish dressing?" he said, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

I blushed and looked away, "Just hurry up!" I walked out of the bathroom, my face still hot from what had just happened.

-_The Thin Line Between Love and Hate_-

**Red's P.O.V.**

There it was again; the sound of someone (or something) shuffling toward my room.

I opened my eyes slightly to see what was coming. The clock on the desk read 10:30 P.M. At the moment, I was lying on my bed, facing toward the bathroom and closet doors.

I tensed up as the sound got louder. 'Please let it not it be one of those crazy fan girls!'I shuddered, remembering how they had broken into my room last year, attempting to take pictures of me.

"Pika?"

My Pikachu, Pika, stirred at my sudden movement. He had been lying at the end of my bed and now looked at me worriedly.

"It's nothing, go back to sleep," I whispered to him. He shrugged but complied willingly, curling back into a little yellow ball.

Once again, I listened carefully for the sound of footsteps. They sounded very light and faint, as if the person (or thing) that made them wasn't very heavy.

The sound came closer and closer. Finally they stopped in the doorway of the bathroom. I blinked in surprise.

"Yellow?" I said out loud.

She didn't answer; instead, she just kept walking.

"Yellow?" I asked again. Then I realized; she was sleepwalking!

She walked all the way to my bed then stopped and lay down on it. She smiled contently and snuggled close to me. I felt myself blush and was grateful that at least Yellow was asleep and couldn't see.

"What do I do now?" I muttered. I didn't get any response, but I expected that. After all, both Yellow and Pika were asleep.

After a while of thinking, I decided to take Yellow back to her room. I picked her up, not very surprised at how light she was.

"Nn…"

I inhaled sharply, afraid she'd woken up. I looked down cautiously. Yellow was still asleep as she grabbed onto my shirt with both hands and pushing her head against my chest. I felt myself grow warm, but pushed it away, focusing on not bumping into anything in the dark.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, I was standing next to Yellow's bed. I laid her on the bed, gently prying her hands off my shirt. She frowned slightly and I smiled. Yellow was turning out to be a much more interesting girl then I initially thought she was.

"Goodnight Yellow," I whispered softly, as I walked back to my room.

**Normal P.O.V.**

Unseen by Red as he walked out of the room, Yellow smiled.

-_The Thin Line Between Love and Hate_-

**Green's P.O.V.**

My eyes snapped open. I realized that screams were coming from Blue's room.

Barely aware of what I was doing, I ran through the bathrooms to Blue's bedroom as fast as I could and stopped dead in my tracks when I got there.

Blue lay in her bed, screaming over and over again. I ran to her bedside and shook her.

"Blue! Wake up," I yelled.

No response. Blue shook, clutching her head as if she were in pain, and continued to scream.

"Blue! Wake up! BLUE!" I continued yelling over her screams and shook her. Finally I slapped her across the face, hoping I wouldn't hurt her too badly.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.

**Blue's P.O.V.**

"_Where are you Blue?"_

_I didn't answer, pushing myself to run faster. I ran blindly through the dense forest, branches catching onto my clothes as thorns scratched me. I gasped for air, feeling the stitch in my side. No! I couldn't stop! I had to keep running._

"_Come back Blue! You know you can't get away!"_

_The voice was familiar, cold, and mocking. I shuddered, but kept running._

_Finally, I saw a light far away…if only I could reach it! I pushed myself even harder._

"_You can't get away Blue. Remember, I still have Silver…"_

_Silver! I turned back and saw Silver staring at me on the opposite side of the light. He didn't speak, but I saw his lips move in a silent plea for help._

_I started to run back for Silver._

"_Silly Blue, you fell for the trap!"_

_I looked up into a pair of huge, piercing yellow eyes. I screamed, fear pounding through me as the eyes came closer and the sound of cruel laughter filled my ears._

"_Blue!"_

_A different voice from the cruel one, yet, just as familiar called out._

"_Blue! Wake up!"_

"_Who are you? Where are you?" I called back. I could feel the ground shaking beneath me._

"_BLUE!"_

Gasping, I opened my eyes. I blinked in the darkness, trying to see.

"What happened?"

I turned, startled, and realized Green was standing next to my bed. I could barely make out his outline, but his green eyes shone clearly as he stared at me.

"What happened?" he repeated.

"Huh? Oh nothing…" I finally answered.

From the way he looked at me, he obviously didn't believe me. I tried to ignore him; instead, I focused on my hands in my lap. They shook badly and I realized that I was covered in sweat.

"Why can't you tell me?" Green asked, sitting on my bed. I scooted away slightly.

"I told you, there's nothing to tell," I replied shortly. He tried to catch my eye, but I looked away.

Green wouldn't understand. My dream…more like my nightmare, was so real. It had been a while since I'd had one of them. I shuddered, remembering the sound of _his_ laughter.

Something touched my shoulder and I flinched. Green's eyes softened as I pulled my arm away from his hand.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." In a way, I wanted to tell Green what I had just dreamed about. I couldn't though. We may have once been childhood friends, but now he was nothing more than a complete stranger.

Green's eyes begged me to tell him, but after I didn't say anything more, he stood up.

"Since you're better now, I'm going back to bed. 'Night," Green said as he walked out.

"Night," I said softly, before letting myself drift back into sleep and hoping no more bad dreams would come.

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**A/N**: Yeah...sorry if it lacked specialshippyness, but a.) I'm not a HUGE specialshipper and b.) It will come later in the story. So, continue reading and review please! I need reviews to motivate me...


	10. Paint and DayCares

Hi everyone! As usual, thanks to everyone who was kind enough to review! Remember, it's your reviews which motivate me to write. Anyways, this ch. will be mainly Yellow and Crystal's P.O.V. with a little bit of Blue's P.O.V. (don't worry, Sapph (or Ruby) will get their say later.) So, onto the story!

**Disclaimer**: As much as I want it to be, Pokemon isn't mine...

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**Blue's P.O.V.**

"Beep-! Beep-! Beep-! Beep-!"

I frowned, annoyed by the incessant beeping of my alarm clock. I smacked around my nightstand for the alarm clock, trying to hit the snooze button. I finally sat up and realized I had placed it onto my desk, far out of my reach and remembered I'd put it there the night before so that I would actually remember to wake up.

"Might as well get up…" I groaned, dragging myself out of the bed and into the bathroom.

After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I cautiously poked my head into the connected part of the bathroom. I quickly used the toilet then went back to my room and into the walk-in closet.

I pulled on my uniform which was in a simple sailor suit design. The pleated skirt was grey with a small circle of white around it near the bottom. The top was also gray and white; the blouse was white, while the collar was grey with two bands of white and the ends of the sleeves were also grey with a white band. (**A/N**: I didn't know how to describe it, but it's probably the most common one in mangas. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just type in Japanese school uniforms in Wiki., you'll find it.)

I nodded to myself in the mirror as I carefully tied the red neckerchief around my neck and a pulled pair of loose white socks up my legs before heading downstairs toward the dining room.

**-in the dining room-**

I stumbled into the dining room after running around the house for five minutes trying to find it.

"Good morning," I said.

"Good morning Blue," Yellow responded. She was sitting between Crys and Sapph, nibbling on a piece of toast.

"Hn…'morning…" Sapph mumbled, spooning cereal into her mouth hurriedly.

Crys smiled at me over the paper she was reading. "Good morning. Sit down."

I sat at the end of the table. Across from me, at the head of the table was Green. He glanced at me then looked back down at his plate.

"Good morning Blue. Did you sleep well?" Red asked. I smiled back at him, glad that at least one person (not including my friends) was kind enough to say good morning.

"I slept pretty well."

"Really?" Gold looked up from his omelet. "I thought I heard screaming from upstairs…"

I stiffened then grabbed a piece of toast before answering. "I didn't hear anything…you probably just imagined it."

He shrugged as I looked up to see Green staring at me again. I glared slightly and he turned away.

"What about you guys? Did you sleep well?"

Gold was the first to answer. "I had a good dream." He grinned at Crys who rolled her eyes and stared intently at her paper.

"I slept like a rock!" Sapph said, finally finishing her cereal. A maid grabbed the empty bowl as Sapph pulled a plate of sausages toward herself.

Yellow nodded. "I slept soundly as well."

"Yeah…me too…" I looked toward Red and noticed how he seemed to be looking at Yellow…and blushing? I blinked, but now he was talking to Ruby. 'I guess I must have imagined it…'

"Ah-! It's almost time for school!" Crys said.

"No it's not," Ruby was looking at the clock hanging over Yellow's head, "We still have about 45 minutes."

Sapph stood up. "Well, unlike you, some people actually have to walk to school which takes 30 minutes!"

"Are you calling me spoiled?"

Sapph smirked. "Hey, you said it!"

They proceeded to glare at each other across the table while the rest of us sweatdropped. Yellow tapped Sapph gently on the shoulder. "Um…Sapph? We have to go now or we'll be late."

"Okay…" Throwing one last glare over her shoulder, she grabbed her bag and walked out of the room. Crys, Yellow, and I went after her.

"Oh wait!" All of us turned to look at Crys. "I can't tutor you today," she said to Gold.

He shrugged. "Whatever, I'm busy today anyways."

Ruby seemed to be thinking before calling out to Sapph. "I can't tutor you either. I have a sewing club meeting today.

Sapph stopped for one moment…before bursting out laughing. "Y-you're in the s-sewing club…?!? Man, I knew you were girly, but I never knew you were that girly!"

"…Sewing isn't girly!"

Sapph put up a hand. "It is girly and nothing you say is gonna change my mind about it! Anyways, I've got better things to do than be tutored."

With that she walkd out and Yellow, Crys, and I went as well. Behind me I thought I could hear Red say, "You know she does have a point…"

"Oh just shut up!"

**-lunch time-**

**Yellow's P.O.V.**

"See you guys later!"

I waved to my friends as I walked out of the dining hall. They waved back and went back to talking.

I breathed out a sigh of relief as I walked through the empty hallways. I loved my friends, but occasionally I enjoyed spending time by myself and doing the thing I loved to do most.

Sliding the door open to the art room, I slipped in and shut it after me quickly. We weren't allowed into classrooms during lunch (except for club meetings) but Wallace-sensei wouldn't mind…I think.

I grabbed an easel, a blank canvas, and a set of paints, then sat down and started painting. I don't know how long I had been painting when suddenly…

"What are you painting?"

I jumped, almost spilling the pot of blue paint all over my painting. I turned to look over my shoulder. Red stood a few feet away and was walking over.

"So what are you painting?" he repeated.

"Nothing!"

"Aw, let me see! Please?"

I shook my head and stood in front of my painting. "I don't like people to look at my paintings or drawings."

"Can't I just see for one second?"

I sighed. He certainly was persistent, I could see that. "Fine." I unwillingly got out of the way.

"Thanks!"

I stood there anxiously, nibbling my bottom lip (something I tended to do when I was nervous), as I waited for Red's response.

"Hm…It's nice…" I could hear some slight hesitation in his voice.

"But…?" I gestured for him to continue.

"Don't you think that the Spearow's eye needs a little more white?"

I looked at my painting and saw Red was right. I had been painting a Spearow that had perched on the windowsill and now I realized that the eyes looked a little dull.

I dabbed a bit of white paint on then turned to Red. "Like this?"

"A little more. Like this." He leaned over me and added a touch or two. I felt his body press against mine and blushed.

"See?"

I nodded. "Y-yeah…So you seem to be good at art. Are you taking it?"

"No." He shook his head. "I like art but I prefer photography." He pulled out a camera and snapped a picture of me. I blinked at the sudden flash.

"See?"

He held up the picture. It showed me with a surprised expression on my face.

"Delete it!"

"Fine," Red sighed. He quickly deleted it and we sat (or I sat, he was still standing) there in silence.

"Um…" I started, "…I hope I didn't bother you last night."

Red looked startled. "What do you mean?"

I sighed. "Sometimes I talk in my sleep or sleepwalk. I never notice because I'm a really heavy sleeper, but my uncle told me that."

"Nope! I didn't notice a thing!" he said quickly, scratching the back of his head…nervously? I stared at him, but decided he was telling the truth.

"Yeah…so if I ever bother you, just tell me 'kay?"

"Sure."

Just then, the bell rang.

"Oh no; Wallace-sensei's going to come back soon!" I gasped, hurriedly picking up the paints and brushes.

"What's the rush?"

I walked quickly to the sink and dumped out the murky water before answering, "Well, I'm actually not supposed to be in this room."

Red's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're not supposed to be in here?"

"Yes," I said, putting away the easel and hiding my painting behind a shelf in the storeroom. Then I grabbed the paints.

"I honestly can't believe that you would break any rule." Red sounded like he was trying to be stern but I heard an undertone of amusement.

I shrugged, placing the pots of paint on the shelf. "It helps be from being too stressed." Hearing voices outside (meaning students were going back to class now), I panicked, rushing to the shelf with the last pot of paint…and tripped.

"Look out!" I managed to say. Red turned and jumped back, avoiding the paint, but a little of it splashed on his tie.

"Oh my Acreus! I'm so sorry!" I yelped, grabbing a towel and dabbing at it.

"It's fine; it's just a little paint! No big deal!" he laughed. A sudden click startled us as the door slid open. Red immediately shoved me into the storage room and shut the door. I waited in silence as someone walked into the Art room.

"Red, what are you doing here?" I gasped, realizing it was Wallace-sensei!

The sound of shuffling, then, "I was taking a few pictures."

"In my room?"

There was a slight pause. "The view is pretty good in this room and it has the right amount of lighting."

"Why didn't you just go outside to take pictures?"

"I wanted a Pidgey's eye-view."

The footsteps of Wallace-sensei got closer. "Why is there paint on the floor?"

Red chuckled nervously. "I accidently knocked it down…"

"All paints should have been in the closet." Now the footsteps came closer to the storage room door. I held my breath.

"I'm sorry; I took it out of the closet because I needed an item to focus on in my pictures!" Red practically yelled. I was grateful to hear the footsteps stop.

"Very well. Next time, please don't come into my room without my permission. Now let's clean this up," Wallace-sensei said sternly.

I held my breath again as Wallace-sensei stopped in front of the storage door, about to open it.

"Wait!" Red shouted, "Uh…I'll clean it up, since I spilled it. Why don't you just go get ready for your next class?"

There was another moment of silence. "Okay Red. I have to go get some papers from the teaching lounge anyways." Wallace-sensei's footsteps faded away and I heard the door open and close.

"You can come out now."

I slid the door open and went over to Red. "Thanks for making sure I didn't get in trouble."

"No problem," he said, grinning at me. I smiled back and gave him a quick hug. I felt him stiffen then hug me back gently. I pulled away and we hurriedly cleaned up the spilled paint.

"I've got to go to class now. See you later!" I waved to him and jogged out of the room. He waved weakly back, before walking out slowly.

I laughed a little as I ran to my next class. In a way, Red was my knight in shining armor…or paint-stained clothes…

**Crystal's P.O.V.**

"Don't be too rough!" I called out after two of the boys running after a muk.

I sighed, as I swept the ground. Those boys never listened. I was at Earl's Pokemon School, helping out Mr. Earl. He had opened up the school as a way for younger kids who weren't old enough to go to K.E.P.A and whose parents were too busy to bond with their kids to have a fun place to go to.

I enjoyed volunteering there. The kids learned to interact with gentle, mild-tempered Pokemon and I could help teach and play with them.

"Crystal?" I looked down to see Kisa, one of the little girls, pulling on my skirt.

"Yes Kisa?" She showed me her Clefairy doll.

"Mr. Jiggles is hurt. Can you fix him for me? Please?"

I laughed silently at the name of her doll before saying, "Sure." The doll's "wound" was a slight tear and I could see little bits of stuffing poking out.

I grabbed my needle and some thread and sat down on the steps of the center. "Why don't you go play right now Kisa. I'll call you when Mr. Jiggles is ready."

"Okay!" She dashed off to her friends happily. I shook my head, laughing, as I stitched Mr. Jiggles up.

I had just finished the last stitch and cut the thread when I heard a loud scream. Immediately I stood up, scanning the yard.

Running full speed through the gate was a Ponyta!

"Get in the building kids!" I heard myself yell as I ran toward the fast-approaching Pokemon. I yanked off my skirt as I tossed out three Pokeballs.

"Arcanine!" "Smoochum!" "Parasect!" All of them stood ready in defensive positions.

"Arckee, use Extremespeed!"

Arckee immediately rushed at the Ponyta and rammed into it, causing it to falter and doing some damage.

"Chumee, Mean look!"

Chumee jumped in front of me and glared at the Ponyta, sending beams of light at it. The Ponyta now stopped completely, unable to escape.

"Spore Parasee!"

Waves of spore flew from Parasee's mushroom over the Ponyta. It looked drowsy and wavered. It was ready for capture!

I positioned a Level ball on the ground and kicked it hard, aiming for the Ponyta's forehead. It hit it, right on the spot, before being sucked in. The ball shook a few times and was still.

"Good job guys!" I panted. Parasee clicked his pincers, Chumee cried out happily, and Arckee barked a few times as I returned them all to their Pokeballs.

"Good job…" I turned at the sound of a voice. Leaning against the wall was Gold. He was clapping slowly and smirking.

I felt myself clench my fists in annoyance. "What are you doing here?"

"What else? Watching you capture a Pokemon," he said simply. "By the way, I wouldn't mind if you did it again and took of the pants." He winked at me as I turned red.

"Shut up! Now tell me the real reason you're here!"

He sighed. "Well, I was actually trying to capture that Ponyta, but it got away."

"Don't lie. You know that students aren't allowed to catch Pokemon on school grounds! It's against the rules!"

"Rules, rules, rules. Is that all you ever think about?" he said, raising his eyebrows. "Besides, I wasn't catching it for myself. I help out at the Pokemon day-care center, see?"

I looked at the I.D. Gold had pulled out of his pocket and thrown at me. Sure enough, it said, "Pokemon Day-care Assistant."

"Fine. Then here," I said, handing over the Pokeball. Gold took it and let out the Ponyta. It whinnied and shook its head, but stood still as Gold inspected it.

"Geez, did you have to be so rough on it?"

"Well, I'm not the one who couldn't catch a Ponyta!" I retorted.

He shrugged. "Yeah, but she's just a newborn. Plus, I did weaken her before, but when I threw the Pokeball, she broke out and ran for it."

"She's a newborn?"

Gold nodded. "Just hatched a few minutes ago. And here's her mom." He tossed another Pokeball on the ground and a Rapidash came out, sniffed the Ponyta, and then proceeded to nuzzle her.

"If I had known she was just a newborn, I wouldn't have been so hard on her…" I mused to myself silently.

"Crystal? Can we come out now?"

The kids were all peaking out anxiously now. I nodded, "Sure. Come on out."

They all ran out, yelling and shouting after being cooped in one room for too long. Kisa was the first to come over, hugging Mr. Jiggles. Surprisingly though, she went straight to Gold instead of me. She stared straight up at him and he stooped to her height.

"Are you Crystal's boyfriend?"

I felt myself blush. Kisa obviously did not know the difference between a boyfriend and a boy-friend.

Gold's eyes twinkled in amusement, before saying, "If she wants me to be."

"Are you, Crystal?" They both looked at me, Kisa, seriously, and Gold, amused. His eyes seemed to be laughing at me as they waited for an answer. I sighed.

"Yes Kisa, he's my…boyfriend…" Mentally, I groaned. Of course I wanted to say no, but just the day before I had told the kids that we should all get along and be friends. If I said no now, I'd be a hypocrite.

She seemed to ponder this for a moment before looking back at Gold. "Will you be my boyfriend?" she asked solemnly.

"Of course," he replied equally solemn. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Gold."

"I'm Kisa!" They shook hands then Gold picked her up and swung her around. She laughed and shouted as Gold laughed with her. I could feel my anger at him fade a little at the sight.

I was interrupted, however, by a sharp whinny. Three of the boys, Alan, Benny, and Clarence were taunting the Ponyta, jeering and poking a stick at her.

Before I could say a word, Gold was next to them, having grabbed Clarence and Benny by the collar. Alan stood still in fear. Kisa was standing on the ground, watching all of this, wide-eyed.

"Never harm a Pokemon like that! You shouldn't tease or hurt a Pokemon, understand?" he yelled at the boys.

They nodded, eyes wide at Gold's obvious fury. He grabbed their heads and hit them against one another, making sure Alan got hit as well. Seeing this, I stepped in.

"Alan! Clarence! Benny! I thought I taught you never to hurt a Pokemon! Especially a baby one! Now go inside and think about what you've done. No dessert or free play for a week!"

They nodded again meekly and ran into the school.

Gold's eyes were still hard as he watched them before he looked at me and grinned. "Looks like they won't be scaring any Pokemon anytime soon."

"Gold, we never use physical punishment," I said sternly.

He laughed. "With you being so uptight, I can see why."

I punched him on the arm and he stopped. "Hey! I thought you said you didn't use physical punishment! Liar!"

I was about to protest before I saw he was joking. "Yeah well, you need someone to knock some sense into you."

"You can do that," he said, smirking slyly. I felt my mouth twitch as I was about to smile, but managed to keep a stern face. Behind us, I could hear Kisa saying to her friends, "Did you see what my boyfriend did?"

I felt myself soften and said, "Still, you were good with Kisa…I guess there's more to you than just being a annoying player."

He chuckled slightly. "And I guess there's more to you than just being a sticking-to-rules, straight-A, bookworm."

"Oh shut up!" I said, punching him lightly on the arm.

"Ow!" he said, pretending to be hurt. Then he grinned at me and I gave him a small smile back. His grin widened and I looked away, still smiling.

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**A/N:** Whoo! 10th ch. done! Sorry if the Specialshipping was too subtle, but I just can't write Yellow's P.O.V. in a way that satisfys me...maybe I should try Red's P.O.V... Still, they're a very subtle pair (not like Ruby and Sapph), but I'll try my best! Hope you enjoyed this ch. and please review!!!

**_P.S._** Red is going to be into photography/art, because besides Pokemon, he and Yellow need something else to "bond" over...sorry if that bothers anyone...


	11. Raticates and Stones

Okay...um...hi guys. I'm SO sorry I have not updated in...more than a month? Yeah...more than a month... I've just been super busy with school work (I was busy typing a 32 pg. essay last weekend) and I had major writing block, so there weren't any updates. I also apologize for screwing up Arceus' name (major screw up there XP) and for any & all grammatical/spelling mistakes I make. I tend to update on weekends at 12 a.m.-5 a.m. Why? Because that's the only time I have! So, if I make any mistakes, I apologize, but I'm probably falling asleep on the keyboard and missed it. Still, I'll do my best. The last thing on this extremely long author's note is the whole Japanese honorifics thing. Yeah, I know some people hate when writer's use them (I kinda do, depending on the story). Anyways, I was just testing them out and after reading my story over, I agree that it didn't sound right. So, I won't use them anymore, but if I mess up, sorry! So, I hope you guys forgive me for not updating in sooooo long... Please read and review!

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon=not mine.

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**Sapphire's P.O.V.**

I poked my head out the door cautiously and looked to the left; then to the right, listening carefully. The coast was clear…

Freedom! I ran as fast as I could, the school's exit coming closer with every step. Only a few more feet…

"Sapphire!"

I stopped in my tracks and turned slowly. Crystal stormed over to me, her expression extremely pissed.

"Sapph, you have to go to tutoring today!" she practically yelled at me. Luckily the halls were empty, seeing as it was a Sunday and most of the people who were here were at club meetings.

"I don't want to go!" I yelled back.

Crys didn't answer; instead, she grabbed my arm and began to drag me unceremoniously to the classroom where Ruby had told me we'd meet at. I was seriously regretting telling Crys about it before.

"Why can't you let me go? What kind of friend are you?!?" I shouted desperately. Her grip didn't slacken one bit as I played the "friend-betrayal" card.

"If I have to be stuck with Gold for two hours, then there's no way I'm letting you get out of being tutored by Ruby," she said sternly. Then she looked back at me and smiled; "Besides I know you do need help."

I sighed. "Can't you help me instead?"

"You know Professor Oak said Ruby has to tutor you. But if I have any free time, I'll help you and maybe the Professor will stop your tutoring sessions sooner."

We finally reached the classroom, Room 3-A. Crys let go of my arm, but blocked my route to freedom. "Well, go in."

I sighed again. "Do I really have to?"

She nodded and I let out a large moan of frustration.

"Fine; but you owe me big time." Slowly, I reached over, opened the door, and walked in. The last thing I saw was Crys giving me an encouraging smile.

**Ruby's P.O.V.**

"Where is that girl?!?"

I looked up at the clock again, as I had been doing for the last 15 minutes. Sapphire was late, 20 minutes late to be exact.

I turned as the door suddenly slid open. Sapphire walked in, with an expression that would have rivaled a person who was about to be executed.

"What took you so long?" I asked as she shut the door. The she turned to me with an enraged expression.

"Trying to avoid coming here, that's what!" she snapped.

"Why? Do you want to fail?"

She glared and shook her head. "No, but I also don't want to stay here with you."

I didn't respond, surprised by her fury. Suddenly she ran toward the window, perching up onto the sill.

"Wait! What are you doing?" I yelled out, rushing toward her. Was she crazy? We were two stories from the ground!

"I promised Crys I would come here; but I never said I'd stick around. So, see ya!" With that, she jumped out the window.

I ran to the window and looked down. Somehow, she had managed to land onto a nearby tree and was leaping through other trees like some jungle-woman, into some unknown direction.

I sighed. Was I really going to follow her? Then I remembered that my father had put me up to this…I would definitely have to follow.

Shuddering, I mentally prepared myself before leaping out the window toward the same tree Sapphire jumped onto. I flailed around wildly, but managed to grab onto a branch. I breathed a sigh of relief, and then slid down the trunk to the ground.

Though I had to follow Sapphires "suicidal-jump," or risk losing her, there was no way I was going to play Tarzan and swing through the trees. Instead I took off running after her disappearing figure.

**-10 min. later-**

I panted as I ran after Sapphire. 'How long is she going to keep moving? I don't know how much longer I can run…' The sun beat down and I felt sweaty and grimy. I grimaced as yet another branch caught me in the face.

Then, as if sensing my discomfort, Sapphire jumped down from the trees onto the ground a few feet ahead of me. I ran harder now and pushed back some bushes that were in the way.

"That took forever…" I panted, closing my eyes and breathing hard. Then I opened my eyes and saw Sapphire taking off her shirt!

"W-what are you doing?!?"

She whirled around, holding her shirt up to her chest; her face completely red and angry. "What are you doing here?!? Go away!"

I backed away, shielding my eyes. "I'm sorry! I didn't see anything!" I tripped over a rock in the process of backing up, but I kept both hands over my eyes, even as I fell.

After a moment, I peeked cautiously. Sapphire had broken off a branch and twisted it in a complicated manner, so that it now made a sort of skirt and bra set. She marched over and looked down at me, her expression murderous.

"Why the hell were you following me?!?" she snapped.

"It's not like I want to," I said, looking away, "I HAD to follow you!"

"Whatever…stalker."

I stared at her, flabbergasted. "I'm not a stalker!"

"When you follow someone who obviously doesn't want you near them, then that classifies as STALKING!!!"

"I don't have a choice in the matter! And I'M NOT A STALKER!"

"Stalker!"

"Stop calling me that!" Seriously, this girl was getting on my nerves. I would never think of stalking anyone, let alone her!

I stood up just as Sapphire marched over and poked a finger rudely at my chest. "Just stop following me!"

I backed away slightly, wrinkling my nose at her attire. "How many times do I have to say this? I'M NOT FOLLOWING YOU!"

"Then why are you here?"

I rolled my eyes; she obviously wasn't getting it. "I don't want to fail!"

Now Sapphire was rolling her eyes. "Who cares about failing? I'd rather fail then stick around with you!"

"I CAN'T fail! My dad would…" I stopped abruptly and sighed. "You wouldn't understand."

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "I understand you're a stalker!"

"I'm not a stalker!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!

"Raticate-!"

We both turned in surprise at the sudden, unexpected cry. Standing nearby, right in the middle of both of us was a medium sized Raticate. It was standing there, pawing the air, with an anxious expression on its face.

Sapphire immediately forgot about our argument. "What's wrong?" She bent down to the Raticate's level and stroked its head. It started to chatter quickly, continuing to paw the air.

"Raticate! Cate-rati-cat-cat! Rat-!"

I had absolutely no idea what it was saying, but Sapphire seemed to understand every cry that came out of Raticate's mouth.

Suddenly, Raticate turned away and ran off into the bushes. Sapphire stood up and ran off after it. I sighed then followed. I was NOT going to risk losing her again.

**Sapphire's P.O.V.**

I followed Raticate's small figure as she crashed through the bushes. From what I could understand from her quick cries, there was trouble back at her nest.

"Rati!"

Raticate's mate, a slightly larger male Raticate, was crouched in front of me, fangs bared in defense. I raised my hands in a show of peace. He contemplated me warily for a second as the female Raticate walked over, chattering madly. Slowly, he let down his defense and relaxed.

"Ugh! Why are you always running away?"

I whirled around as both Raticate quickly got into defensive positions. Ruby walked out of the undergrowth, dusting his sleeves off and grimacing. He paused when he saw us.

"Whoa…what do we have here?" he said, eyes flicking back and forth from the Raticate to me.

"You're still following me?!" I yelped.

He narrowed his eyes at me then growled, "I keep telling you, I'm not following you!"

Before we could jump back into the argument we had been having, the female Raticate jumped into the conversation and stopped us.

"Rati-cate!" We stopped as she nudged my leg and ran to her nest. I went over to the nest, which was a bed of leaves and soft grass, and knelt down. Lying in the middle of the nest was a little Rattata. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. The most notacible feature about the little guy was a large slash that went from his back all the way to one of his hind legs, nearly slicing the leg off. The wound was still flowing and there were spots of red all over the nest.

"How did this happen?" I asked the female Raticate as I reached over and touched Rattata lightly. He shivered, but other than that, he didn't move.

"Rati. Cate-cat-ra! Ta-cate-cate-ta!" The female Raticate (whose name, she now told me, was Kinomi) quickly told me the events that had led up to her baby being so badly hurt.

Kinomi and her mate, Ki, had been searching for berries. Their child, a young Rattata with the name Koishi, had been playing nearby. Kinomi had warned Koishi not to play in the opening and to stay well hidden, but being young and naive, Koishi hadn't listened. He had wandered off into a clearing where a large Fearow had proceeded to pick him off for lunch. Luckily for Koishi, Kinomi and Ki had been close by and through a number of Hyper Fangs, Quick Attacks, and Pursuits, managed to get the Fearow to drop their son for an easier target. But the damage had been done and now Koishi was hanging onto his life by a mere thread.

I had been so intent on listening to Kinomi's story (Raticate tend to talk quickly. You always had to listen hard or else you'd miss something), that I hadn't noticed Ruby standing behind me until he spoke.

"What happened?" His eyes were wide as he took in Koishi's battered appearance.

I whirled around, "It's none of your business!" I didn't put a lot of force behind my words; I was too worried about Koshi, whose condition was rapidly declining.

Ignoring me, Ruby looked over my shoulder and grimaced. "That's one hell of a wound."

"And again, it's none of your business!" I snapped. "I can handle it."

"Really?" he said, raising his eyebrows. "And how exactly are you going to do that?"

I paused. By the time I got back to the house and got a first aid kit, it already might be too late. His wound was still bleeding profusely and was probably getting infected.

"I…I'll figure something out," I said, my voice ringing with more confidence then I actually had. Ruby looked at me skeptically and sighed.

"I think I have some stuff I could use to bandage him up." He was now rummaging through his bag. Then he turned to look at me. "Can you get some water?"

Surprised by how in charge he suddenly was acting, I simply accepted his orders without arguing. "Okay…"

I ran quickly to the river and managed to collect some water in a convenient shell by the bank. I went back just as fast and slowed down as I came back to the nest. Ruby was bent over Koishi's tiny body, dabbing at the wound. I stared for a moment before slowly walking over.

"Here," I said, handing over the shell. Ruby nodded in thanks and took it, his hand grazing mine. I immediately pulled away, not used to the contact. He looked slightly confused, but turned back to Koishi. I squatted down next to him.

"So how is he?" I asked.

Ruby shugged. "He's okay for now," he said, cleaning the wound with the water and a piece of cloth he had gotten from his bag.

"Where's Ki and Kinomi?"

Ruby looked confused before realizing I was talking about the Raticate. "I sent them to go find some Oran berries. They should help him heal faster."

"Koishi," I interrupted, "His name's Koishi." Ruby looked surprised, but nodded. At that moment the Raticate returned.

They immediately went to Ruby, dropping the berries at his side. "Thank you," he said, breaking them into smaller pieces before turning to me.

"Here, feed them to Koishi while I bandage the wound."

"Right," I said, hiding my surprise at how quickly the Raticate had come to take to and trust Ruby. He dropped the pieces of fruit into my palm and I slowly fed them to Koishi who was regaining consciousness.

Ruby was cutting another piece of cloth from a larger one that he'd taken out of his bag. Then he began to tie it around Koishi's leg, keeping a steady pressure on it. I studied him as he worked.

None of the usual girly, afraid of dirt and grime, expression was on Ruby's face. It was replaced by a look of total focus and control. His eyes looked intently at the leg, barely blinking, as he worked; and his mouth was in a straight line.

"Done," he sighed, rocking back on his heels. He looked over at me, expression relieved and confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked. I blinked and looked away, embarrassed that I had been caught staring.

"Nothing," I muttered. I looked at Koishi, in an attempt to get Ruby's focus on something else. "So he's okay now?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. He should be fine now."

This seemed to be true. Koishi was up now, looking around curiously for his mother and father, who had disappeared. Suddenly, they popped out of the bushes.

"Raticate!"

They rushed over to Koishi and nuzzled him. He chattered happily, rubbing against them. Then he looked over at Ruby and I and nodded. Kinomi and Ki stopped their frenzied nuzzling and pattered over.

"Rati-! Raticate!"

They each held out one shiny stone. Kinomi held a deep blue one and Ki held a dark red one. Kinomi gave hers to Ruby while Ki offered his to me.

"For me?" Ki nodded. "Thank you," I said, taking the small offering.

Ki and Kinomi smiled as we examined the stones. They caught of the setting sun's rays and sparkled brightly. However, I noticed how odd the shape of my stone was. It seemed to be larger on one end and curved. Looking over at Ruby, he also looked surprised.

Kinomi, noticing our confused expressions walked over. She grabbed my right hand, containing the red stone, and then grabbed Ruby's left hand, which held the blue stone. Then, she brought our hands together. The two stones fit together perfectly. Kinomi stepped back with a wide grin.

"Cool…" I sighed. Suddenly, I realized my hand was still touching Ruby's. I looked at him and felt my face get hot. He was also blushing and looking away.

"Thank you guys," I called out to Ki and Kinomi. They grinned at us, especially in the direction of our hands, before running back into the nest.

"Well…"started Ruby, "That was interesting."

I nodded in agreement. Both of us still had not let go of the now joined stones. Finally, I tried to pull my red stone from his blue one.

"Huh? They won't come apart!"

Ruby's expression was concerned. He tried to pull his stone away. No luck.

"I guess they're joined together forever," he sighed. "And I wanted to keep mine…."

I sighed too. Although I didn't say anything, I also wanted to keep the stone. We sat there, neither wanting to let go of their stone.

"Look," Ruby said. "Maybe one of us should keep it."

Immediately, I said, "I want to keep it!"

"But I wanted to…" Ruby whined.

"Me!"

"No, me!"

"Me!"

"No, me!"

Once again, right in the middle of our argument, out popped Kinomi. She scowled at us, grabbing the stone from our hands and dashing off into the bushes.

"Hey!" I shouted, running off after her. Ruby quickly followed.

Kinomi seemed to run deliberately slowly, as if she wanted us to follow her. Finally, she stopped.

"Whoa," I heard Ruby say as he came up behind me. I didn't say anything, too awed by the place we were now in.

We were standing in a small clearing. It was grassy, surrounded by bushes and trees on three sides, with flowers scattered throughout it. On the fourth side was a small section of a winding river that glistened and gleamed.

"Raticate!"

This time, Kinomi set the stone down in the middle of the clearing, looking at both of us carefully before running off.

"I guess she doesn't want us to fight," Ruby said.

"Yeah…maybe…she wants us to leave the stone here," I said, walking over the stone and sitting down.

Ruby came next to me and sat. "So should we leave it here?"

"Okay…" I looked over at him. "Promise to leave it here?"

"Promise," he said, raising his hand up to shake.

I reached over and grabbed his hand. It was warm and surprisingly slightly hard, not what I had been expecting of a girly-boy who sewed. We shook for a few seconds before I let go. He stood up with a slight sigh.

"Well, I'm going to go back to the school now."

"Fine," I said, still sitting. "Don't fall in the river, girly-boy!"

He stared at me for a moment and grinned. "Sure, wild-girl." He walked away, still grinning. I watched his retreating figure until it disappeared among the trees.

I breathed out a small sigh as I flopped down on my back in the grass. All the past afternoon's events had worn me out.

"Today was a weird day…" Then I looked over at the two stones, still joined together perfectly, sapphire blue and ruby red. "…but it was interesting…"

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**A/N**: ...The ending was kinda weird, but again, the writer's block was getting to me. I wanted to put in Crystal & Gold's part, but it seemed like a good place to stop, and if I didn't, I don't think I could have updated this week. (Right now, it's about 4 in the morning...) Next ch. will have Crys/Gold and hopefully, special & oldrival! Please review!!!

**P.S. **Ki- tree, Kinomi- berry, Koishi- pebble (Random names, I know, but I couldn't think of anything else...)

**P.P.S. **I asked a few ch. back, but since I didn't really get too many answers, I'll ask again. Please submit last names for Crys, Gold, Blue, and Ruby. (Being me, I totally forgot that Yellow & Green & Sapphire already had last names and that I had given Red one already...whoops XD)


	12. Implications and Random Pairings

Hi guys! First of all, I'd like to thank my reviewers of the last ch.! I noticed that I've gotten some new people reviewing which is awesome, but I also noticed that some of my "oldies" (you know who you are, so I won't name names) aren't reviewing anymore *glares sternly at non-reviewers*...but that makes me sad...so please REVIEW! (It'd make me happy, which helps me focus and get through the writer's block.) Also to **Clutzy White**, yes the stones were yin-yang shaped. (I must go edit that. Thanks for reminding me!) Ok, I feel that I've rambled enough, so onto the story!

**Disclaimer**: Sure, Pokemon is mine, in the universe far, far away...

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**Crystal's P.O.V.**

I watched Sapph go into the room where Ruby was waiting, until she actually went in and closed the door, waving to her as she looked mournfully at me. As soon as the door shut, I walked outside, sighing at Sapph's paranoia. I mean, seriously, no one could be as annoying as Sapph made Ruby out to be.

"Hi Crys!"

Scratch that thought. I turned slowly to see Gold leaning against a tree, waiting for me.

"Hey Crys!" he yelled out again. A few people passing by turned to look. I covered my eyes and sighed, but walked over to him.

He opened his mouth one more. "Enough," I said, covering his mouth with my hand, the other hand rubbing my temple. I could feel a headache coming on.

Suddenly, I felt something wet run across my palm. I recoiled immediately.

"Ew! You just licked my hand you freak!" I wiped my hand furiously on my pants as Gold bent over with laughter.

"Y-you're…so-o paranoid…" he gasped out in between his laughing.

I glared at him. I was pretty certain I could understand how Sapph felt about Ruby now. "I'm not paranoid! It's just gross that you would just lick my hand like that! I mean, think of all the germs!"

Gold raised an eyebrow, still chuckling slightly. "You're scared of germs?" Within seconds, he was roaring with laughter again.

I blushed slightly. "I-I'm not afraid of germs! It's just gross!"

No response. Finally, I turned away. "Ugh, you're so immature! When you're done laughing, come find me and maybe we can start the lesson."

"Wait," Gold said, grabbing onto my sleeve. I looked back at him. He was still laughing a little under his breath but said, "I'll stop now."

I contemplated him for a second and then walked back to him. "Good, now one more thing…" I pulled out the small travel-sized bottle of sanitizer from my bag and squirted a liberal amount on my hands and proceeded to rub it in.

Gold watched me with an amused glint in his eyes but wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. Done, I closed the lid and slipped the bottle back in my bag. Gold waited as I stood up and faced him.

"Okay, so I thought our first lesson could be on pokemon catching. 1. Because I thought we should start out easy, and 2. Because you suck at catching pokemon."

"Hey!" Gold protested, "I don't suck!"

I gave him a look that said "you've got to be kidding me." He stared back at me defiantly.

"You couldn't even catch a Ponyta foal."

"It broke out of the Pokeball!"

Again, I gave him _the_ look. "Did you aim at the striking point?"

Gold gave me a blank look. "The what?"

"The striking point, you know, the specific spot on the pokemon where the catch rate is the best?"

His look still said "I have no idea what you're saying." I heaved a big sigh; something I seemed to be doing a lot lately.

"Here, catch that Caterpie," I said, handing over one of the school certified pokeballs and pointing out a small caterpie who was munching happily on a leaf nearby.

"Alright," Gold shouted, "You're mine!" He yanked out a pokeball from his backpack and tossed it out.

"Ataro, go!" Out popped a small Aipom, who immediately stuck out its tongue and made a rude gesture with its tail at the Caterpie. (I had a feeling Gold probably taught it to the little monkey.)

"Use Swift!"

The Aipom waved its tail from side to side, flinging large, golden stars at the Caterpie. The Caterpie curled into a little ball as the stars came straight at him in a direct hit.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Gold threw the pokeball at the middle of the Caterpie, who was then sucked in by the red light.

We waited as the ball shook from side to side, once, twice, then…

"Caterpie!"

The small bug Pokemon broke free and made a quick run for it into the bushes and disappearing. Gold and Ataro stared after it with their jaws dropped in shock. I sighed and shook my head.

"Did you even aim?"

Gold turned toward me, mouth still agape, before nodding furiously. "Yeah! I aimed straight at it, didn't I Ataro?" The purple monkey nodded just as hard, mimicking its master.

Again I shook my head. "No, I meant did you aim for the striking point?"

Both of them looked at me with a "What?" expression.

"The striking point of a Caterpie is in the middle of its antennae," I said. I pointed over at Ataro. "Do you know where the point is on an Aipom?"

Gold shook his head while Ataro looked over himself trying to find his striking point.

"The striking point of an Aipom is on its cowlick." I pointed at Ataro's tuft of fur sticking straight up. Ataro looked up, patting the fur down, only to have it pop right back up. Gold looked over expectantly at me before saying, "Now what?"

I walked over to my bag and pulled out a small packet over papers stapled together. "Here," I said, handing the packet to Gold. He took it, eyes skimming over it quickly before he looked up at me.

"A test?!?"

"Is there a problem?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Well yeah!" he practically shouted. "You can't test my on stuff I've never learned!"

I reached over and snatched the papers from Gold's hand and pointed to a sentence that was entirely bolded and underlined. "See this? It says **THIS TEST DOES NOT COUNT AGAINST YOUR GRADE. IT IS A PRACTICE TEST, INTENDED ONLY FOR THE TEACHER'S USE AND WILL NOT BE COUNTED!!!**"

Gold listened, smiling sheepishly when I'd finished reading. "Oops, guess I didn't see that…"

"Always so quick to jump to conclusions…" I muttered under my breath. Then raising my voice, I called out to Gold, "Hurry up and finish; I don't have all day."

Gold nodded, taking the test from my hand and sitting on the grass, pencil in hand and face intent on the test. I watched, surprised at how focused he could be; maybe he wouldn't fail.

**-15 minutes later-**

"What do you mean I failed?!?"

I continued to walk briskly toward the house, not turning to look at Gold who was keeping up quite easily since his legs were longer than mine.

"You failed because out of 50 questions, you got 39 wrong!"

"And that's bad…?"

I paused for one second before continuing walking. "Yes, that's bad! That's 22% or a F!"

By now, we were walking through the gates that stood in front of the house. The sky was turning from an orange-pink to a dark blue. I shivered as a gust of wind blew. It was already getting cold even if it was only September.

"Can I retake the test?" piped up Gold's voice. I started, totally forgetting that Gold was still here.

"No you can't retake the test," I said, pulling out the key to unlock the door. Gold stood by, watching. "I told you that the test doesn't count against you remember?"

He nodded. "But you still didn't teach me anything today."

I sighed. "I know…and we're really going to have to make up for it. Just bring all your pokemon to Monday's lesson okay?"

"Okay," Gold responded. We stopped in the doorway of the main kitchen in surprise. Red and Yellow were inside, talking quietly. Red was standing in front of Yellow who was leaning against the fridge. Her face was slightly pink, while Red looked down at her. Neither of them seemed to notice Gold or me; they were so caught up in their conversation.

"Hey cousin! Hey Red!"

Both Yellow and Red jumped at the sound of Gold's voice. Yellow even let out a small squeak of surprise. Gold bounded in happily and I followed him in, smiling weakly at Yellow and Red in apology for interrupting them.

"So…" Gold started since Red and Yellow were still speechless from the sudden interruption and I was still mad at Gold for bursting in on them, "…what were you guys doing?"

Immediately, Yellow blushed and looked down while Red's ears turned a bit pink. He glanced over at Yellow who refused to look up. "Nothing," Red finally answered.

"Nothing?" Gold repeated, grinning. "Really cousin?"

Yellow looked up quickly at being addressed. "We weren't doing anything Gold, we were just…talking."

Gold's grin just got wider at Yellow's answer, something I didn't think was possible. "Talking, eh? Must have been one interesting conversation since you didn't notice Crys and me coming in."

Yellow and Red didn't answer, looking at the ground, Yellow scuffing the ground gently with her toe. An awkward silence fell over us in a heavy cloud.

"What were you talking about?" Gold's voice broke through the heavy silence. Red looked up at Gold after a moment.

"Just battling…Pokemon…you know…"

"That's all, huh?" Gold said. He looked over at me, his seemingly permanent smile still on his face. Now it turned into a smirk. I immediately had a bad feeling about what he was about to say next. "Too bad you and Yellow can't have more _interesting_ conversations like me and Crys here."

As he said this, he casually threw his arm around my shoulders. "Isn't that right Crys? Don't we have _fun_ conversations?" He cocked his head, bangs falling gently over to one side as he did. His amber eyes searched my face as he gave me a crooked grin

I turned away, feeling a small part of me waver at his eyes and smile, and shoved his arm off, before speaking. "No, we do not have "_interesting_" conversations!"

Red and Yellow watched in confusion. A small look of understanding was on Red's face. He understood some of the implied terms, but mostly he still seemed confused. Yellow, innocent as she was, was totally in the dark.

The four of us stood there in silence, Red's eyes shifting back and forth from Gold to me, Yellow looking confused, Gold still looking cheerful, and me, glaring slightly at Gold. Suddenly a maid walked in. We all turned.

"Um…am I interrupting something?" she asked hesitantly.

"No," Red said. "We were just about to leave." With that he walked quickly out of the room with Yellow following, face still scrunched in confusion.

"So…you come here often?"

I turned back to see Gold looking down at the maid, a short-haired brunette who was blushing heavily. A strange feeling rose inside my chest at the sight and I felt myself clench and unclench my fists.

"Ah…I'm just here to clean…" the maid stuttered. She looked over at me as I simply stood there watching and clenching my fists. "Please excuse me!" She bowed and hurried out of the room.

I felt myself unconsciously relax as soon as she was gone. Gold sauntered by me, a knowing grin pasted on his face. I felt the urge to strangle him and rip the smirk off his face.

"Jealous?"

I shivered at the feeling of warm breath against my ear where Gold whispered. I whirled around. "No, of course I'm not jealous!"

Gold didn't answer, already walking out of the room. He simply raised his hand lazily as I glared at his back. Then, he was gone.

"I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous…" I muttered to myself as I went to go find Sapph. For the rest of the night though, it was the only thing on my mind.

**Blue's P.O.V.**

"Okay class, gather round!"

I suppressed a yawn as I walked over to where Professor Oak was standing. The rest of the class also got in a circle around the Professor.

"So you must be wondering why I had all of you come outside today."

A few bored mumbles were heard. The Professor looked slightly discouraged by the lack of response, but continued. "Okay…Anyways, today you all are going to go on a scavenger hunt!"

Again, only a few mumbles were heard along with some groans and an "Eh?!? But what if I chip my nail?!?" from one of the annoying fangirls. The Professor sighed and pulled out two small sacks from his pocket.

"This scavenger hunt will be for certain plants, including berries, and certain Pokemon parts, such as claws or feathers. We will examine these things next time and some may even be used by the medical ward to make medicine!"

Once more, there was very little response. The Professor glared at everyone before continuing. "Now, the reason why I have these two sacks," he held them up, "…is so that I can separate you into teams of two."

This time the response was ear shattering. Cries of "Eh?!?","What?!?", and "I want to be with Green!" were raised. (The last one was obviously from the fangirls.)

I kept quiet, but looked over hopefully at Red. He was whispering to Green who, as usual, stood there with a stoic expression on his face, ignoring all the outbursts.

"Quiet please!" the Professor shouted over the uproar. Finally after a few minutes, everything settled down. "I will begin choosing now."

25 pairs of eyes bore down on the Professor as he reached into the sacks.

"Diana and Joe." A raven haired girl wearing a red cap gave a high-five to the sandy-haired guy standing next to her who was also wearing a red cap.

"Sarah and Peter." A very girly looking blond sniffed as she inched her way over to the tall, rather heavy looking boy who had the beginnings of a beard and a mustache.

"Kim and Sam." The brunette standing to my left who was sniffing a daisy, walked over to a nerdy looking guy who was staring intently at his Pokedex.

"Terry and Tommy." Two loud yells were heard as the ponya-tailed blond ran over to the brawly guy standing across from her in the circle. The two met in a head-butt that sounded extremely painful. I winched but the two merely chuckled. Everyone inched slowly away from the pair.

Slowly, one by one, the pairs were put together as the rest of us stood waiting anxiously for our names to be called. I looked around to see who was left. A few people who I didn't know, Green, Red, and (I shuddered) Magenta.

The Professor took a deep breath as he pulled out another pair from the sacks. His brow furrowed and he paused for a second. Finally, he spoke.

"Blue and Green."

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**A/N**: Whoo...this chapter was kind of hard to write... Hopefully you guys understood all the things implied (you probably will, it was right in front of you). I wanted to put in an actually lesson for Gold and Crys but it just didn't fit, so it'll have to wait. Also, I hope you noticed who Blue's classmates are. (I'll give you a hint, they're all from the games.) Next ch. is the scavenger hunt, which will contain oldrivalshippy-ness! Yay-ness! (It's not a word, but I use it sometimes for the heck of it! So...;P if it bothers you. Just kidding.) Anyways, please REVIEW!!!

**P.S.** Last names for Blue, Gold, Crystal, and Ruby would be VERY much appreciated! (My imagination skills for names are seriously lacking, so PLEASE help me out here!)

**P.P.S.** (I really cannot stop ranting today...) I'm putting "More or Less" on hiatus for now for anyone who might want to know. The reason is that I'd like to focus on this story and "Chinese Finger Trap" at the moment. When I'm done with C.F.T., I'll probably add new ch. to "More or Less," but for now, it's going to be kind of on hold...sorry...


	13. The Scavenger Hunt Begins!

Hey guys! *looks at review number, then looks away. Does double take* ...Oh my Latios...I HAVE 100+ REVIEWS!!! *Throws confetti in the air and runs around screaming* Woo-hoo! Thank you guys for reviewing, you guys are awsome!!! (And I'm sorry I had to glare at you to make you review...but some of you still haven't reviewed...*glares again*) Still, I have more than 100 reviews in less than 15 ch.! So, thank you guys and keep reading & reviewing! *Happy dance, happy dance*

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon? Of course it's not mine!

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**Blue's P.O.V.**

"WHAT?!?"

My mouth quickly snapped shut. I was just about to yell out the exact thing but Magenta had beaten me to the punch line.

"She can't be with Green! She can't! She can't! She can't!" screamed Magenta as she jumped up and down.

I glanced over at Green to see what his reaction was. He looked shocked and…angry? He seemed to be glaring over at his grandfather though it was hard to tell since his expression was generally close to a glare. Red was also looking at Green worriedly. I knew he had noticed Green's reaction right away.

Meanwhile, Magenta was still throwing her tantrum. "No! No! No! No!"

"Enough!" Everyone jumped slightly at the Professor's voice. Even Magenta stopped her piercing screams at the Professor's command. Professor Oak glared at us all before continuing. "Whoever you are paired with is your final partner. There will be _no_ changing of pairs!"

Magenta opened her mouth to protest. "That is my _final_ word," emphasized the Professor. Magenta pouted but stayed quiet.

"Now that that's been settled, we'll continue," the Professor huffed. He reached into the sacks again to pull out another pair but I was no longer paying attention to the pairings now.

Red was whispering to Green now, but Green just shrugged and walked away to the edge of the class. Red looked toward me and saw me staring. He shrugged with an apologetic look on his face, then stiffened at his name being called out.

"Red and Magenta."

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I'M WITH RED!!!"

I stared in disbelief as Magenta ran over to Red, still screaming with joy. She quickly latched herself to his arm while giving the rest of the girls a look that said, "Back off." Red winced and tried to edge away but Magenta had a stronger grip than a Krabby.

"Okay, settle down," said Professor Oak. "Now that you've been given your pairs, I'll give one partner a list of the items you must find. They should be relatively easy to find, but some require more skill so be careful."

He walked over to each pair, handing out papers quickly, until he reached Green. He paused and said something to Green in a low tone. Green responded with a fierce glare while he whispered something to his grandfather. I edged toward them to hear what they were saying.

"…don't want to be with her!"

"It's been 6 years Green. Don't you think it's time to move on?"

"No," Green said flatly. He opened his mouth to say something more, but stopped. The professor turned and saw me hiding behind a nearby tree.

"Oh! Hello Blue," he said, trying to hide the surprise and guilt written all over his face. "Here's your list!" He held out a cream-colored sheet of paper. I took it hesitantly and the professor scurried off.

I stood there holding the paper as I looked over at Green. He made no attempt to come closer. "Well? Are you just going to stand there?" I asked. Slowly, he walked over and we both looked down at the paper.

On it were six items; an Oran berry, a Kelpsy berry, a Pidgey feather, a Rattata whisker, Arbok venom, and a Gyarados scale. I continued to stare at the paper. The berries were probably going to be quite easy to find, as well as the whisker; but the venom and the scale were definitely going to be more of a challenge. As for the Pidgey feather…

"Well? Are you going to just stand there?"

I whirled around and glared at Green. "Hey! Don't copy me!"

"Whatever," he said, rolling his eyes. "So you want to split the list?"

"Yeah, or else it wouldn't be fair," I answered.

He nodded. "Okay then, I'll get the Oran berry, the venom, and the scale; and you get the Kelpsy berry, the whisker, and the feather."

I shuddered at the thought of looking for bird Pokemon. "No way! I'm not going to let you take all the hard ones! Look, I'll get the scale and you find the feather."

Green's eyes seemed to flash with some new understanding, but just as suddenly as it had been there, it was gone. "Fine," he sighed, "But be careful."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, mother," I retorted. "I'll try not to get eaten by the big bad Mightyena on the way home."

I started to walk toward the woods while Green turned toward a different path. Just as I passed by him though, I could have sworn he muttered something like, "…Obnoxious woman…"

I huffed indignantly. I'd show him I wasn't some obnoxious woman!

**Red's P.O.V.**

"Reeeeeed! Slow dooooooown!!!"

I sighed, rubbing the sides of my head in a small effort to sooth the fast-approaching headache I was feeling.

"Reeeeeeed!"

"Look. Maybe we should split up," I said, spinning around to face Magenta. She immediately stopped as her eyes welled up with tears. She slumped down to the ground on her knees, putting her face in her hands as she wailed loudly.

I stared wide-mouthed in shock and disbelief as I approached her cautiously.

"Red wants to leave meeeeeeeeee!"

"No! No!" I waved my hands around. "It's not that I want to leave you, it's just…"

"It's because I'm ugly isn't it?" Magenta sniffed.

I raked through my brain frantically. All my years of training had never prepared me for an encounter like this! I stood there, mouth opening and closing like a Magikarp, trying to find a suitable answer. Something (maybe Arceus himself), held me back from agreeing with Magenta.

"Erm…you're not ugly and that's not why I want to split up," I started. "It's just that, we'll probably find more things separately than if we were to stay together."

"Oooooh! Okay!" Suddenly, Magenta's face brightened hugely. "Then, I'll go look right now!" She dashed off down the path, faster than I thought her massive heels would allow her to.

I sighed. Latias, girls were hard to understand! One minute they're crying, next minute they're laughing about some random stuff! Looking down, I realized that Magenta hadn't taken the list which meant I would have to look for everything. I sighed again. Maybe she had planned all of this…

**-1 hr. 15 min. later-**

"Arrrrgh! Another Magikarp?!?"

I threw down my pole angrily and released the red fish back into the river, barely resisting the urge to kick it back. By now, I had found most of the items relatively easily. (They were a Razz berry, a Nanab berry, a Meowth claw, some Mareep wool, a hair from each of a Tauros' tail.) The final item however…was giving me problems.

"Why can't I catch a fucking Gyarados?!?" I yelled aloud.

"Red?"

I whirled around in surprise. Standing there, or rather, hiding there behind a tree was Yellow. She was peeking cautiously and curiously at me.

"Oh, hey Yellow!" I was starting to calm down a little now, slightly embarrassed that Yellow had seen me worked up in such frenzy.

"Hi Red." She came over to me slowly, still looking a little shocked at either my behavior or my crass language.

I sat down by the riverbank and motioned for her to sit as well. Slowly, Yellow sat and seemed to relax more. I could feel the tension slip away as we sat there in silence for a while. Finally, Yellow spoke.

"So why are you here, Red?"

"Science," I said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"And your assignment was to cuss at the river?" Yellow said, giggling slightly. I smiled at her wryly.

"Very funny, but no. My assignment is a scavenger hunt and right now I'm trying to catch a Gyarados!"

Yellow seemed to perk up a little. "So what are you doing here?" I said conversationally.

"Sleeping."

I cocked my head in confusion. "You were…sleeping?"

Yellow blushed, looking down at the grass. "Actually, I came out here to sketch, but the sun felt so good that I…fell asleep."

"Really?"

Yellow nodded. "Yeah, I fall asleep really easily. It's another weird sleeping habit of mine. Sometimes I just fall asleep at random times or in random places."

I nodded as well and we lapsed back into silence. "So you're trying to catch a Gyarados?"

I turned in surprise. "Yeah…?"

"Do you need help?"

I stared at Yellow for a minute, before answering, barely able to suppress my laughter. "N-no, I don't t-think so. I've been trying for the last half hour and the only thing I've caught is Magikarp."

Yellow raised an eyebrow. "Can I just try?" Her voice held a slight challenging tone in it.

I raised my one eyebrow skeptically as I handed her the fishing rod. "Sure. Knock yourself out."

Yellow cast out the line as I lay back onto the grass and closed my eyes. Hopefully, when all she caught after the numerous amounts of trying were Magikarp, Yellow wouldn't start bawling. I did _not_ want another repeat of Magenta.

"H-hey Red!"

I opened one eye lazily. "Yeah Yellow?"

"Help me!" Yellow's voice was panicky, a total change from her usually demure and gentle tone.

My eyes snapped open and widened as I saw Yellow being jerked forward by the force on the other end of the pole. She was almost being lifted off her feet and into the water!

"Hang on Yellow!" I ran forward and grabbed Yellow by the waist, just managing to save her from being pulled in. I grabbed onto the pole and pulled backwards. "Shit! Whatever is on this is heavy!" I said, pulling with all my might.

Suddenly, rising up in a huge arc over the water, came a Gyarados! It roared angrily, opening its mouth as the hook fell out of it. I stared at it motionlessly before coming to my senses and pulling out one of my Pokeballs.

"Go Saur!"

Out popped my faithful Venusaur who snapped menacingly at the Gyarados. The Gyarados growled back, its body submerged back in the water, with only its head sticking out.

"Use your vines to throw him out of the water!" I yelled out.

Saur growled in agreement, stepping close to the bank and shot out two of his vines, grabbing the large serpentine Pokemon and tossing him out of the water like a hotcake.

"Now use Razor Leaf!"

Shaking the flower on his back, Saur sent a flurry of sharp leaves flying straight at the Gyarados. It roared in pain and fury as the leaves struck him. Then he fell back into the water with a loud splash. He roared one more time, than dived down and swam off.

"Grab one of those scales Saur."

Saur willingly complied, using one of his vines to carefully grab one of the shiny blue scales. I took it from him and patted his head as I returned him to his ball.

"Good job Saur." Then I turned to Yellow who had been standing there watching the whole thing.

"That was very good," she said, smiling faintly. "And you managed not to damage that Gyarados too badly."

I nodded in thanks. "But the real surprise was how you caught that Gyarados on your first try! That realy surprised me!"

Yellow smiled and blushed modestly. "It's nothing really. I just grew up living with my uncle who's a fisherman. He taught me how to fish."

"Still, you did a great job," I said, patting her on the shoulder. Her blush darkened and she looked away.

"Maybe…but I just hope that that Gyarados isn't caught by someone else. He seemed pretty worked up," Yellow said. I nodded as we stared worriedly at the river.

**Blue's P.O.V.**

"Man, this is a long river."

"Puff?"

I shook my head. "No, it's fine Puriri." She shrugged and continued running along the bank.

We'd been searching along the bank for signs of Gyarados. I had already gotten the berry and the whisker, so all I had left was the scale. I didn't have a rod, so I was trying to look for Gyarados along the bank.

"Jiggly?"

"Just keep looking," I said to her. She nodded.

Luckily, the Professor had gotten the okay for each of us to carry one Pokemon with us for this scavenger hunt or else I would be soooo bored without Puriri for company.

"Jiggly! Jiggly!"

I stopped at the sound of alarm in Puriri's voice. "What is it Purir?"

She pointed a pink paw over at a fast-approaching blue figure in the water. I squinted to see, then jerked back in surprise.

"A Gyarados!" I gasped. Then I got into my battle mode. "Puriri, Tri Attack when it gets close!"

Puriri waited until the Gyarados was just about to pass her…then she fired a multi-colored beam of light that had blue, red, and yellow combined.

"Gyara!"

"What the-?" Looking closer, I could see small cuts along the Gyarados' hide. His eyes opened and I could see they were red with rage. Puriri stood there, waiting for my next command.

"Puriri, get out of there!" I yelled. Puriri barely managed to dodge as the Gyarados sent the most powerful Hyper Beam I'd ever seen straight at her.

He continued to spit large beams at Puriri, intent on finishing her off. Normally after a Hyper Beam, the user had to rest, but I guess since it was in such a rage, the Gyarados didn't need to rest.

Suddenly, Puriri stood there, trapped between two trees and the Gyarados. He leered at her and opened his mouth widely…

Puriri, no!"

I dashed over to them, half-grabbing, half-shoving Puriri out of the way, just as the Gyarados shot out.

"Aaaaaaaaaaagh!!!"

**Green's P.O.V.**

I knelt there, waiting patiently as the venom dripped slowly into the vial I was holding. Scizor was also bent over at my side with one claw holding the Arbok's body, while the other gripped onto its head.

"That should be enough. Let him go Scizor."

Scizor nodded, as I pulled the vial off one of the Arbok's fangs. The fang had punctured the thin sheet I'd placed on top of the vial and the fang had slowly and instinctively dripped venom into the vial. I put the stopper on top of the vial and placed the vial into my bag. Meanwhile, Scizor had picked up the Arbok (making sure its head was far away from his and my bodies), and tossed him unceremoniously into the bushes. The Arbok hissed menacingly, but after losing so much venom, it knew it needed a good meal before it could face us.

" Alright, guess it's time to go back," I said to Scizor. It nodded. I picked up my bag just as I heard a loud scream.

"Aaaaaaaaaaagh!!!"

I turned at the sudden cry. Scizor was also looking around, his silver eyes flashing. Picking up his ball, I recalled him and ran toward the scream.

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**A/N:** So yeah...not oldrivalshippy yet, but it will come either next ch. or the one after the next ch. And I decided to use Red's Venusaur's english nickname, but for everyone else's pokemon, I'll probably use their Japanese nicknames. (The reason why I used Saur is because I like it better than Fusshi. Sorry if it bothers you.) Another thing...I apologize for not updating last week, but I was out of town, so that meant no comp. time for me... Anyhoodle, I'm back now, so I hope you enjoyed this ch. and please REVIEW!


	14. End of the Scavenger Hunt and a Lesson

Hey everyone...I'm so sorry this chapter took forever. It was the hardest ch. for me to write so far and I'm still not happy with it... Still, I hope you like it. Please read and review! Oh, about last week's ch. Many of you guys reviewed asking about Blue/Green's pasts. Don't worry...all will be revealed to you soon dear readers...

**Disclaimer**: If Pokemon were mine, there would be quite a few changes, but it's not, so no changes for me...

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**Green's P.O.V. **

"Aaaaaaaaaaagh!!!"

Pushing through one more thick bush, I finally reached the source of the scream. Crouched down on the ground in front of me was Magenta. Her hands were on top of her head and she was shivering slightly.

I stared at her for a moment before walking over and putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Agh!" she screamed, flailing wildly and falling on her bottom. Then she looked up and saw me.

"Green! Thank Latias you're here!" she cried out, jumping to her feet and attaching herself to my arm. Scizor, who had just arrived, rolled his eyes and glared at Magenta.

"What's wrong?" I said, while trying to pull myself away from Magenta. She only hung on harder though, not letting up at all.

Magenta shook her head and sniffed, before speaking. "There was a really scary pokemon…"

"Where was it?" Immediately, Scizor was on the alert, his eyes shifting around. I also scanned the area for any sign of a dangerous pokemon.

"Over there," hiccupped Magenta, pointing at a small clump of bushes to my left.

Suddenly, the bushes started to shake a little. Both Scizor and I tensed up as Magenta gripped my arm even tighter.

"Eek!" screamed Magenta when out of the bushes popped…

…a Weedle. Both Scizor and I stared speechless at the small bug Pokemon. Then I looked at Magenta who was cowering behind me.

"A Weedle?"

She nodded frantically, "Yeah! Bug Pokemon are scary and ugly!!!"

Scizor was now giving Magenta an offended death glare. (Obviously she didn't realize Scizor was a bug Pokemon.) Finally I was able to shake her off. She was _still_ whimpering and whining about the Weedle on the ground. I sighed.

"Scizor, get rid of the Weedle."

Scizor looked at me, before walking over, picking up the Weedle and placing it in a nearby tree. Magenta looked up, hearing the noise, and gasped.

"You got rid of the ugly Pokemon! You're my hero!" Once again, she clung to my arm. I shook her off impatiently and walked away. Scizor followed, leaving Magenta behind. He glanced back at her once then turned to me questioningly.

"She'll be fine," I said to Scizor. He nodded and we continued going through the woods. Suddenly, Scizor tensed up. I looked at him as he cocked his head to one side then dashed off. Once again, I was running, this time after Scizor.

**Blue's P.O.V.**

"Puriri, no!"

Just as the Gyarados shot out the Hyper Beam, I managed to tackle Puriri to the ground. Both of us tumbled to the floor as one of the trees disintegrated behind us.

Sitting up quickly, I checked over Puriri. Luckily, she seemed unharmed, only slightly muddy. I hugged her tightly in relief.

"Wiggly!" Puriri's sudden cry snapped me back to reality, as the Gyarados roared, opening his mouth to ready another Hyper Beam. I got to my feet, still holding Puriri in my arms. Once again, the Gyarados fired another attack at us and I ducked behind a large boulder for cover.

Mentally, I was cursing the Gyarados with all the cuss words I knew (and a few that I made up) as I tried to come up with a plan. Nothing was coming up. Then as it opened its mouth to recharge, yet again, something clicked in my mind.

"Puriri use Disable!"

"Wigglytuff!"

Puriri stared hard at the Gyarados as she released blue rings at it. The Gyarados froze for a second, confused that nothing had happened. He opened his mouth to fire the Beam he'd been charging. I waited with my fingers crossed…

Nothing came out of Gyarados' mouth. "Yeah! Good job Puriri!"

"Wiggly!" Puriri wiggled happily in my arms as I hugged her before setting her down.

"Gyara-!"

Finding out that he could no longer shoot Hyper Beams at us, the Gyarados seemed extremely mad. He began to thrash his whole body, especially his tail, sending a series of huge waves at us.

"Oh crap…"

**Green's P.O.V.**

I followed Scizor's fast-moving figure as he moved rapidly through the dense maze of a forest. I didn't question where he was going or what he was looking for; if Scizor was this focused, it was definitely something important.

"Scizor."

I saw Scizor in front of me push through some thick brush and disappear from my sight. I followed, ignoring the small thorns that tore at my sleeves. Looking up, a strange sight met my eyes.

Scizor was just a few feet away from me in a battle stance, while Blue was next to a large boulder with her Wigglytuff by her side. They were facing a large Gyarados that looked enraged. The large serpant pokemon roared furiously at Blue.

"Scizor." Without waiting for a command from me, Scizor began to fly around the Gyrados quickly, confusing him. The Gyrados snapped at Scizor who dodged before coming in close and cutting slashes along the Gyrados' body.

"Gyar…" With one last roar of defiance, the Gyarados crashed into the water, sending a huge wave over Blue, Puriri, Scizor, and me.

"Waagh-!"

Blue was now looking like a pretty sorry sight, light brown hair that was darkened by the water was now plastered to her face, teeth chattering from cold, and as for her uniform…

**Blue's P.O.V.**

I stared in disbelief as Gyarados fell back into the river after getting beat up by Scizor. Then I realized that the massive weight of the blue Pokemon had caused yet _another_ wave, this time, the largest one of them all.

"Oh crap…"

Gallon after gallon of water washed over me as I scrunched my eyes close and held my breath. After what felt like an eternity, the water stopped coming. I opened my eyes slowly and saw Green who was standing next to the tree that hadn't been blown up. He was slightly less wet than I was since he had been farther away, but most of his clothes were now soaked and his hair was drooping down.

Green was staring at me, eyes rather wider than usual. Seeing me staring back at him seemed to snap him out of his little trance. He walked over to where I was.

"Here." In one smooth motion, Green took off his school blazer. I stared blankly at the dark black dripping jacket.

"Um…thanks, but that's wet too and I'm already wet," I said plainly, not wanting to offend him.

"Just take it." Green sounded a little exasperated and…embarrassed? He held out the blazer, face turned the other way. His face also seemed a little pink as he offered me the jacket.

I was confused by Green's behavior. Why would he offer me his wet blazer when I was already dripping wet? I mean, it was nice of him but his blazer was wet too. Then I realized something. I was wearing a white top as part of my uniform and I was wet. So water plus white clothes…

Blushing, I looked down. It turned out I was right. Showing clearly through my uniform was an outline of my bra. I glanced up at Green who seemed to notice my realization since his blush deepened. I swallowed hard, snatching the jacket from Green's hand.

"Thanks." I nodded stiffly to Green as I slipped on the blazer. The blazer was too big for me and the sleeves dripped water as I stood their foolishly. Green and I stood there in an awkward silence. I chewed on my lip, trying to think of a way to break the silence.

"Yeah…so thanks for the jacket…" Green nodded. "…pervert."

Green's head turned so fast, I thought he might get a whiplash. The expression on his face made me want to laugh, but I kept my own face perfectly smooth and expressionless.

"I'm not a pervert." Green glared at me as he spoke.

I rolled my eyes mockingly as I walked over to something gleaming on the ground. Bending over slowly and deliberately, I picked it up. It was a Gyarados' scale. Turning around, I smirked at Green who had turned even redder from my last action.

"I got the scale. Let's go back." I began walking back toward the school. Green stood there gaping after me. I looked back. "Well? Hurry up…pervert."

Green's blush intensified. "I'm not a pervert," he said stiffly, walking over. I nodded slowly.

"_Sure_…then why are you blushing so hard?" I looked sideways to see Green's reaction.

He turned even redder at my words. "I'm not blushing…pesky woman."

I smiled to myself as we walked back, Puriri and Scizor following close behind. Blue-1, Green-0.

**Crystal's P.O.V.**

'Where the heck is that fool?'

I sighed, tapping my foot impatiently on the ground. I was in a pretty bad mood today due to Professor Rowan's English test. I had gotten a 98%! A 98 due to a careless mistake! I groaned at the thought of it again, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples in frustration.

"Boo."

"Ah-!" I jumped backwards in shock, before looking up to glare at the person before me.

Gold stood in front of me, his ever present grin on his face and his backpack hanging on one shoulder loosely.

"Scared you, didn't I?"

I stood up straight, dusting off my skirt before answering. "No. I was just…startled, that's all."

Gold's expression told me he obviously didn't believe me. I glared and said, "Let's just start the lesson. Did you bring your pokemon?" Gold nodded. "Alright, let them out."

"Come on out guys!" Gold tossed out six pokeballs. Out popped Typhlosion, a Politoed, a Sudowoodo, a Pichu, a Sunflora, and of course, Aipom. All of them roared, grunted, or made some type of noise as they came out, happy to be released from their balls temporarily.

I walked up to them to examine Gold's pokemon closer. All of them looked wary, except Aipom who was busy playing in a pile of leaves.

"Guys, this is Crys. She's going to show me how to catch Pokemon; even though I _know_ how to already," Gold said to his team.

I rolled my eyes at his last statement and continued my examination. Surprisingly, all of Gold's pokemon seemed to be in good shape.

"Okay, first thing you have to learn are moves that can help weaken your foe or keep them in place so it's easier to catch them," I explained to Gold. He looked at me with a look of slight confusion. I pointed to Pichu. "For instance, you can use Pichu for his static ability. Or you could use Sunflora's GrassWhistle to make other Pokemon fall asleep."

Gold nodded with his mouth in an 'oh' shape. I nodded slowly turning away and pointing at a Kakuna that was up in a nearby tree. Gold looked up and nodded.

"Aitaro, run up that tree and knock down that Kakuna!"

"Aii?" The little monkey popped out of the pile of leaves he'd been playing in and scurried up the tree, knocking the Kakuna to the ground. It opened its eyes, startled, but not hurt too badly.

"Suntaro use GrassWhistle!"

A beautiful melody began and I quickly cupped my ears with my hands, gesturing to Gold to do the same. Unfortunately, all of Gold's Pokemon (except Aitaro who was up in the tree) also fell asleep as Suntaro finished her song.

"Now Ataro, use Scratch!"

"Aipom!" The monkey leaped down from the tree, landing neatly next to Kakuna before using his sharp claws to scratch it furiously. The Kakuna winced but didn't wake up.

"Now Gold, throw the Pokeball! Aim for the top of its head!"

Gold threw the Pokeball at the Kakuna. It flew through the air, hitting the Kakuna in the center of its body. Immediately the ball sucked in the Kakuna. It shook once…twice…then, the Kakuna popped back out, blinking its eyes sleepily.

"Urgh! Why didn't it work?" Gold yelled.

"Well, you didn't hit its striking point for one thing," I said.

"I can't aim well when I throw the stupid pokeball!"

I stared at Gold, realizing what he said did have a point. I couldn't throw a Pokeball to save my life. I could only kick them when I caught Pokemon.

"I think…I think you need to find your own way of catching a Pokemon," I said slowly.

Gold gave me a look of disbelief. "Isn't that your job to teach me that?"

I shrugged. "What I mean is you have to find your own style of catching. I can't throw Pokeballs either, I have to kick them."

"So you want me to…kick them?" Gold asked dubiously.

I shook my head, opening my mouth to explain. Suddenly an angry buzz interrupted me. I turned and saw a swarm of angry Beedrill staring at us, stingers raised, ready to attack. I realized that the Kakuna must be part of their family and us injuring it must have enraged them _very_ much.

"Oh shit. Run!" Gold quickly returned all his Pokemon to their balls and grabbed my hand, pulling me as he ran. The Beedrill buzzed as they took up the chase.

"Where are we going?" I panted.

"Who cares? Just keep running!"

We kept running as the Beedrill kept chasing us. I could almost feel their stingers at the back of my head as the buzzing got louder. Suddenly Gold stopped. I stopped too realizing we'd hit a dead end. We were facing a large wall of the side of a cliff and were surrounded by trees on both sides with the Beedrill right behind us.

Gold stood protectively in front of me. "Hey Crys, I'll distract them and you run, 'k?"

"What?!? Are you crazy? You'll be killed!" I stared at the back of Gold's head as the buzzing came closer.

Gold turned slightly so I could see the side of his face. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Still, I wouldn't do this for anyone you know."

I blushed and looked down. "Thanks I guess…idiot."

Gold grinned. "Geez, I sacrifice myself for you and you still call me names. You sure are harsh super-serious gal."

I bit my lip, unable to think of anything to say. I spotted the Beedrill coming closer. "I can't even use Arckee or Mega here…it's too small…and Chumee and the others are back at the lab," I muttered.

Suddenly, Gold perked up. "That's it!"

I looked at him in confusion. "What's it?"

Gold smirked. "You'll see." He swung his backpack around and pulled some things out. I glanced nervously from Gold to the fast approaching swarm.

"Bee!"

My head snapped up in surprise as the first Beedrill reached us, with the rest right behind it. I flinched, waiting for it to attack.

"Go Ataro!"

Looking up in shock and surprise, I saw Gold hit something round with a billiard cue. It hit the first Beedrill and ricocheted off it, hitting the other Beedrill like a pinball. As it hit the last Beedrill, a shape in the form of a small purple monkey came out of it. I realized the round thing had been a Pokeball.

"Aipom!"

"Use Screech and then use Swift!"

Ataro cried out in a shrill voice, causing the Beedrill to falter for a second, defense lowered. Then he spun around as he came down, shooting stars everywhere.

"Bee-!" The Beedrill were pelted with stars as they flew off quickly. Ataro landed on his tail, clapping his paws happily. "Ai-aipom!"

I shook my head in amazement at what had just happened. Finally, I spoke. "I guess you've got your own style now."

Gold looked back at me in surprise. Then he grinned. "Guess so."

We watched Ataro for a few seconds before I suddenly realized we were still holding hands. "Ah-!" I shook my hand free and looked away.

"Huh?" Gold looked down to see what I had been so startled about. Then he laughed. "What? Are you afraid I've got germs?"

"N-no! I just don't want to hold hands with such an idiot!"

Gold smirked at me. "Whatever you say Ms. Serious. Let's go back." He returned Ataro and turned to me.

I quickly ran up to him as we walked back slowly towards the school with our hands touching occasionally as we walked.

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**A/N:** Yeah...sorry about the possible OOC (I'm not sure, might have some, but maybe it's just me...) and how there isn't as much shippy-ness. I'll try to do better next time! Also, I apologize for so many battle scenes (I'm not too good with battles, so please excuse the poorly written battles...) Anyways, please be kind and leave a review! (I'll do my best to write a better ch. next time!)


	15. Arguments and Dodgeball

Hi people, once again, I apologize for the long wait (2 weeks! *shudders*), but alas, these past 2 weeks have been full of non-stop tests/quizzes/presentations. Still, I'm almost done with the school year, so yay! This chapter came out better (in my opinion) than the last one, so I hope you guys enjoy it. As usual, thank you to the awesome people who reviewed last ch., this ch. is dedicated to you! Please review! (People aren't reviewing again...-_-)

Oh yes, questions/answers from last ch.: **Sayumii**- Hm...Yes, Blue has more pokemon, they'll come later; and I'm bothering the kakunas because I bother the caterpies too much. XP (kidding, it's just that beedrills are more dangerous.) **ShadowsyaoranX-77**-The thing I meant about the hands touching occasionally is like if you're swinging your arms/hands and accidentally bump into someone else's arms/hands. Sorry I had to clarify that! (I wasn't sure how to describe it...sorry!)

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon isn't mine.

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Sapph's P.O.V.**

"Man, I hate school…"

I yawned hugely as I quickly stripped off my school uniform, throwing it in a heap on the ground, and snapping off branches, before tying them into my usual outfit. I nodded, satisfied as I looked around the clearing. This had become my own little place. Somewhere all to myself that I didn't have to share with anyone!

"Sapphire? Sapphire!"

Oh right…_him_. I turned slowly, grimacing the whole time. Ruby was jogging up to me, yelling and gesturing with his hands wildly. Finally he reached me, breathing heavily and glaring at me. I glared right back.

"Do you know how long I waited in the classroom for you? 30 minutes! _30 minutes of my time_! Then I decide to look for you and I run around the whole school campus and our house trying to locate you only to find you _here_ of all places!" I opened my mouth, but he continued before I could say a word. "I'm tired, dirty, and sweaty because of you! You better have a good explanation for why you didn't come to tutoring today!"

"I didn't want to," I said simply.

Ruby stared at me, mouth wide open. "You didn't want to…" he repeated slowly. I nodded smugly. "What kind of response is that?!?"

I rolled my eyes. "I've told you before that I wasn't going to learn anything from you. So there you go." I walked away, putting my hands behind my head as I waited for Ruby's comeback. I lied down on the grass as I wondered what he would say. After a minute, I sat up and glanced back.

Ruby was now sitting on the grass, neatly folding my clothes. I stared at him oddly. Just what the hell was he doing? "What in Mew's name are you doing?"

"Folding clothes," he said calmly pulling at a wrinkle in one of the sleeves.

"So you don't care that you can't tutor me?" This guy was weird. One moment he's following me, practically _begging_ me to let him tutor me and now he's so…blasé. (Crys taught me that word. I have no idea what it means, but it sounds good.)

"No…" Ruby retied the neckerchief as he spoke. Then he looked up at me with an odd glint in his eyes. "But what would you do in exchange for me tutoring you?"

"Nothing," I replied quickly. I wasn't about to be fooled into lessons. I'm not an idiot!

"Nothing at all?" he wheedled. He approached me slowly before sitting down about two feet away from me. I leaned away. The way he was watching me was way too intense. Still, I stared back, trying not to act intimidated.

"Nothing at all," I repeated firmly. Ruby stared at me intently and I tried not to blink. Ruby's eyes bore into mine and I stared hard at those familiar red eyes. They stared back unfazed and unwavering. Was it my imagination or was it really getting hotter?

Suddenly, something broke our staring contest. Loud cawing followed by a series of squeaks rang throughout the forest. A small Caterpie crawled frantically into the clearing as a large Fearow flew after it. The Fearow's beady eyes gleamed as it snapped its beak, knowing it had a meal for sure.

Growling angrily I called out. "Pilo! Air Slash!"

A large shape flew by me, sending a sharp burst of air at the Fearow. It cut the Fearow and stopped it effectively. The Fearow cawed and shook its head as my Tropius slowed to a stop next to me.

"Good work Pilo," I said, patting his head. Pilo lowered his head and rubbed against me. The Fearow glared at me and Pilo before flying off to find an easier meal while the Caterpie squeaked a thank you to us and crawled away, keeping more hidden this time.

"So this Tropius is yours?"

I turned, just remembering that he was still here. "Yeah, this is Pilo." Pilo sniffed Ruby before offering his head to be scratched which Ruby did willingly.

"How come he's not in a Pokeball?"

"Most of my Pokemon aren't in their Pokeballs. I keep them all over the campus." Ruby gave me a questioning look. "It's because my dad is a professor so I'm allowed to."

Ruby ran a hand over one of Pilo's leaves and grimaced. "But that makes your Pokemon so dirty!"

I raised an eyebrow. "There's more to life than being clean all the time!"

Ruby wrinkled his nose. "Ugh! Keeping Pokemon out of their balls and in the wild is so uncouth!"

"Uncouth?"

"Crude, barbaric? It ruins their coats!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Okay…you're blowing this waaaay out of proportion. And what about battles? Your pokemon have to be out of their balls to battle!"

Ruby shook his head and grimaced. "I don't battle."

I stared at him in shock. "You don't…battle?"

Again Ruby shook his head. I paused for a moment, taking in what I'd just learned. Then…

"YOU DON'T BATTLE?!?"

Ruby covered his ears and grimaced. Slowly, he took his hands off from over his ears. "No, I don't battle pokemon."

"Why?!?" Battling in my opinion is one of the best, if not _the_ best, things in the world!

"It's barbaric and…" Ruby shuddered. "…it makes pokemon dirty!"

I practically felt my jaw drop to the ground. This guy didn't battle because he thought it would get his pokemon _dirty_?!? No way! He had to by lying!

"You're lying!" I accused Ruby, pointing a finger at him. He raised his eyebrows and gently shoved my hand away from his chest.

"No, I never battle," he said slowly.

"Never?"

"Never."

I thought for a minute. If he didn't battle it had to be for some other reason other than "fear of getting his pokemon dirty." I grinned as I came to a conclusion.

"It's because your pokemon are weak isn't it?"

Ruby turned, sputtering with outrage. "No! I told you it's because I hate getting them dirty!"

"Wimp," I said, smirking.

"I am not a wimp. I just hate battling," Ruby stated firmly.

"Only wimps and sissies don't battle; and since you don't battle, you're a wimp and/or a sissy!" I concluded.

Ruby glared. "I told you, I'm not a wimp!"

"Alright then, prove it!" I grinned widely at him. "Battle me once."

Immediately, Ruby shook his head. "No."

His answer surprised me, but I wasn't going to back down until I got a fight with him, at least once! "Come on! Just one battle!" I was really curious to see what kinds of pokemon Ruby had anyways.

"No way. I _never_ battle."

By now, I really wanted to know why Ruby didn't battle. After all, he had to have some other reason not to battle. "Just one battle! I'll even…I'll even let you tutor me," I struggled out.

Ruby raised his eyebrows, but still stood firmly by his decision. "No. I don't battle."

Finally, I ran out of patience. "Why? Why won't you battle me?!?"

"I just don't, okay?!?" Ruby suddenly lashed out. He glared heavily at me as my eyes widened from surprise at the sudden outburst. Seeing my shock, he calmed down, letting out a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry, but I hate battling. I don't battle anymore. Sorry."

With that, Ruby placed my bundle of clothes next to me, picked up his bag, and walked back to the school. I watched his figure move further away until he disappeared among the trees. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. What did he mean by he didn't battle _anymore_?

**Blue's P.O.V.**

"A-choo!"

I shook my head wearily as I let out yet another sneeze. Sniffling, I rubbed my forehead, trying to sooth the headache that was starting as I pulled on my socks. I walked into the dining room, yawning and sniffling.

"Good morning Blue," Yellow said to me as I walked over to the chair next to her and sat down.

"Morning Yellow, morning guys." I nodded to the others. The others (meaning Crys and the boys) called out various greetings besides Green (typical) and Sapph (who was too focused on eating).

"By the way Blue…you don't look so well. Are you okay?" Yellow's eyes searched my face in concern.

I nodded. "I'm fine. Just a little bit of the sniffles."

"Are you sure?" Crys asked, also staring at me in concern. Even Sapph looked up from her pancakes at Yellow and Crys' tones.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine," I lamented. "I just got a little wet yesterday during the scavenger hunt that's all. I must have gotten a little chill from that."

Yellow and Crys looked at me worriedly, but nodded as Sapph glanced at me once more before attacking her stack of pancakes again. I looked up and saw Green staring back at me. His eyes narrowed at my little white lie and I stared back, warning him not to tell the girls what had happened yesterday. After a minute, he looked away.

"Anyways, how was your scavenger hunt yesterday Red?" I said as brightly as I could, holding back a cough that was in my throat.

Red stopped, teeth midway through a slice of bacon. He put it down and cleared his throat. "It was…interesting." I noticed his ears turn slightly pink.

"Really?" I cocked my head, leaning slightly closer. "What do you mean?"

"You know…all kinds of pokemon." Red glanced up, blushed slightly, before looking back at his plate. I looked up to see where he had been looking only to see Yellow. She shrugged at me, cheeks tinted pink.

"Okay…" I said slowly. Everyone was being weird today. Suddenly, I let out a fit of coughing, sounding like a baby seel choking on a Magikarp bone.

"Blue!" Immediately, Yellow, Crys, and Sapph jumped up to my side. I waved them back, still hacking loudly.

"I'm…fine…" I managed to say between coughs. They stood there staring at me disbelievingly.

When I finally stopped coughing, Yellow came up to me and patted my shoulder gently. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Anyways, shall we go?" I stood up somewhat shakily, suppressing the urge to let out another round of coughing. Everyone stared up at me, even the guys, with concern in their eyes.

"Are you sure you should be going to school?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I think you're sick!" Gold added. The rest of them also looked like they agreed with what the two had just brought up.

I nodded firmly. "I'm here on a scholarship program. I can't afford to miss a day of school. I'll be fine!" I picked up my glass of orange juice, drained it in one gulp, and set it down on the table. Hard. "Now, are you guys ready to go?"

Yellow, Crys, and Sapph looked at me uncertainly, but picked up their bags. They trailed out of the room slowly, pausing every now and then to glance back at me. I sighed and followed them out. As I left the room, I saw Green shake his head and sigh. I raised an eyebrow at him and left.

**-a few hours later-**

"Did you see that skirt she was wearing?"

"Oh my Arceus, it was soooo last season!"

I rolled my eyes in disgust as I slowly pulled on my gym shorts. It was the last class of the day, gym, and I was currently dressing in the locker room filled with my loud, fashion-obsessed classmates.

"Annoying, aren't they?

I turned to see Crys and Yellow standing there, Crys with her arms crossed and an amused expression on her face, and Yellow with her usual gentle smile.

"Yeah, definitely." I closed my gym locker and let out a small sneeze.

Crys raised her eyebrows. "I thought you said you were fine."

I nodded. "I am. It was just the breeze, that's all."

"Hm," Crys muttered, but didn't press me about it. We walked out of the locker room to the blacktop where the classes would take place.

I watched the various students mill around in their white and black/grey uniforms. (Black for guys, grey for white part was the shirt while the grey or black were the shorts.) Most of them stood in small groups on rows of numbers.

"Hey, what are those numbers for?" I asked Crys.

"Oh, you go to your class and sit on those numbers," she answered. I nodded in understanding and looked for my class. Yellow, Crys, and I were in different classes based on our grade number. Seeing the other seniors, I waved to Crys and Yellow before slowly trudging over to the groups of smirking boys and giggling girls. Luckily, our grade's gym teacher, Mr. Brawly (or just Brawly as he told us to call him; like many of the teachers at K.E.P.A., he wanted us to call him by his first name with no formalities) came out just then.

"Ah! Brawly is so hot!" I heard one of my fellow giggling female classmates squeal to her friends. Her friends also squealed and tittered in agreement.

"Yeah, but he's taken isn't he?" one of her friends whispered in a loud voice. "I heard he and Ms. Roxanne are together!"

"Really?" the first one gasped. "That must be why he's always hanging around near her classroom!"

"Yeah, she's the student teacher studying under Professor Rowan for history. I heard he asked her out to lunch right after class!"

They continued to whisper bits of gossip as I tuned them out. Now my head was pounding harder and I felt a slight pain in my throat when I swallowed. "Ugh…it's just your imagination Blue. You're not sick," I muttered to myself.

"Okay class, today we're playing…" Brawly whipped out two bouncy red balls with lightening speed as the people in front of him jumped back, "…dodge ball."

This was met by various remarks and comments including, "Eh? I hate dodge ball!" and "Whoo! Dodge ball!" and lastly, "Brawly, we love you!"

Brawly ignored all the comments, including the last one, and said, "Alright separate into two teams. Evens versus odds!" Everyone separated into their designated teams and went to their own sides. (Evens to the left and odds to the right.) I was number twelve so I went to the left. I looked around for any familiar faces and noticed Green's stoic face on my side. I rolled my eyes, not surprised. He seemed to be everywhere I went.

"Ready, set, go!" Brawly yelled out.

Immediately there were people yelling, screaming, running, etc. It was an all-out war zone. I did my best, dodging and ducking, even though I felt sluggish. I tried to focus on moving out of the way of people and balls, but my feet wouldn't cooperate. I began to feel hot all over and dizzy.

"Ugh…" I blinked as everything seemed to get hazy and blurry. Then, I noticed a ball hurtling straight at me. I tried to force my feet to move, but I couldn't. I was going to get hit! A dark shape rushed right in front of me and I heard a loud "thump-!" Suddenly, I couldn't stand up anymore and I felt myself pitch forward as I blacked out.

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**A/N:** And I'm finished with ch. 15! Whoo! Hopefully, the timing/pacing was better for this chapter. Please review!


	16. Nightmares

Hey everyone! School is OVER! Yeah! So I've decided to update this story because so many of you reviewed last chappy! Thanks to those who reviewed! Let's see...as a few of you may have noticed, I posted a new story. Please check it out and review if you have the time. (It's a family story with a slight twist...) As for whether Emerald and the DP trio will be in this story...probably not (sorry!), but I've kinda planned it so that only the characters you're reading about now are the main focus. (Again, sorry!) Anyways, onto the story, and please review!

**Disclaimer: **Pokemon still isn't mine.

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**Blue's P.O.V.**

"_Where the heck am I?"_

"_Blue…Blue…"_

_I turned sharply, looking around for the source of the familiar voice. "Silver? Where are you?"_

"_Blue…"_

"_Wait!" I ran toward the direction from where Silver's voice had come from. "Where are you Silver?"_

"_Hurry Blue!"_

_Gritting my teeth in fury, I ran in the pitch black, following the faint voice. I began to shiver as the temperature dropped suddenly. I stiffened as a low chuckle came from behind me._

"_Why hello Blue…"_

_I forced myself to run faster, even though my head was pounding and my muscles were screaming at me to stop._

"_Ah, ah, ah…What about Silver?"_

_I stopped abruptly, but didn't turn around. Once again, the horrible voice began speaking._

"_You two always were inseparable. That's why I knew you two would make a great pair. And you could never leave Silver behind, could you Blue?"_

"_Where's Silver?" I asked, still not facing the voice._

"_Now, now Blue. Turn around and show me your face first. I want to see how my best thief has grown. Then we shall discuss Silver."_

_Reluctantly, I turned, still staring intently at the ground. I noticed that strangely, I was floating in the darkness._

"_Lift your chin Blue," the voice commanded._

_I complied unwillingly. Staring straight at me was an eerily familiar mask. It had slanted eyes and a jagged mouth that leered at me. Once again, the voice spoke, and while it came from the direction of the mask, the mouth didn't move._

"_That wasn't too hard, was it Blue?"_

_I stared at the mask, forcing myself not to run away. "Where's Silver?"_

_Again, the laughter. Then, "He'll be coming later. How about you chat with another one of your old friends while you wait."_

_Suddenly, a huge pair of beady golden eyes and a beak came out of nowhere. The mouth opened with a wild cry, before shooting out a giant column of fire._

"_Ahhhhhhhh!"_

I opened my eyes with a gasp. I looked around wildly as two blurry figures swam into my vision. I flinched violently as one of them reached out to me.

"Blue! Calm down."

Panting, I calmed myself. "Crystal? Sapph?" I croaked out.

"Yeah, it's us," came Sapph's blunt reply.

"What happened?" My voice sounded rusty and old. I tried to clear my throat as I saw Crys reach over to the nightstand and grab something.

"Here, drink this," she said, handing over the glass of water.

I took it and gulped it down greedily. Finished, I turned to the pair. "What happened?"

"You fainted," Crys said. She looked worried. "Don't you remember anything?"

I shook my head slowly. "All I remember was that ball hurtling toward me during P.E. Everything after that…" Again, I shook my head.

Both Crys and Sapph looked worried now. "You can't remember anything at all?" Sapph pressed me.

"No…what? Did something bad happen?" Sapph and Crys glanced at me, each other, then away at different directions. "Something happened. Tell me."

Crys looked toward Sapph who was staring out the window. Crys sighed then began. "So the ball was coming at you and was going to hit you, but Green ran over and deflected it. Then he managed to catch you just before you hit the ground. After that, you were out cold and Green carried you back here since it was closer than the infirmary. Nurse Joy checked you and said you were fine. You just need some rest and to be kept warm."

"You slept for a loooooong time," Sapph added.

I frowned. "What time is it?"

Crys checked her PokéGear. "It's about 2:30 A.M."

"Whoa…I slept for 12 hours?!?" Since school ended around 3:00 and P.E. was my last class, I must have conked out around this time twelve hours earlier.

Sapph nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, again, you slept for a looooong time."

"Wait, why are you two still up?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at them. "It's super late…or early. Whatever."

Crys gave me a tired smile. "Isn't it obvious? We were worried about you, duh!"

Sapph also grinned at me, showing her trademark canine teeth. "We're your friends! We had to make sure you were okay."

I smiled at them. "Thanks guys."

"Yellow wanted to stay up too," Crys started. "But being typical Yellow, she fell asleep around 11:00. Red carried her back to her room."

"Oh." I looked down, a little disappointed at this bit of news. "Anyways, thanks for staying up guys, but you can go to bed now."

Once again, Crys and Sapph exchanged looks. "Before we go to bed," Sapph said. "We wanted you to tell us something."

I didn't like the expressions on their faces. "What is it?"

Crys stared straight at me with a serious expression on her face. "Why were you screaming in your sleep?"

"I wasn't screaming," I protested. Both of them gave me dubious looks.

"Blue, we heard you screaming. Can you please tell us why? We won't tell anyone," Crys said. Sapph nodded as well.

I looked at both of them. They both had serious faces as the waited for me to speak. I heaved a big sigh. "Okay…well you guys know that I'm not a rich kid like everyone else at this school, right?"

Sapph and Crys nodded simultaneously.

"See, I was raised a lot differently from the people here." I looked down as I talked, not wanting to see Crys and Sapph's expressions. "First I was a normal kid; playing tag, eating cookies, you know the usual. Then I got kidnapped."

I heard a gasp from Crys. "What do you mean?" Sapph asked.

"I can only remember parts of it…" I said slowly. "The rest of it's hazy…"

**-flashback-**

"_Wah-! The sky's crying!"_

_I ran quickly up the muddy road, trying to avoid any puddles. Mommy had gotten me this new dress as a reward for taking good care of my Jigglypuff. She had let me choose it and I had chosen black, since everyone said it was a grown-up color. Mommy didn't like it, but I loved this dress._

"_It's getting awfully dark Jigglypuff."_

_The pink Pokemon within my arms squeaked a reply. She curled up tighter in my arms, trying to avoid the falling drops of water. _

"_Ah! I'm sorry. Here, go back in your ball." I returned Jigglypuff to her Pokeball and held onto it tightly. Then I continued on my way. Overhead the sky was turning darker and I saw a flash in the distance. It was quickly followed by the roar of thunder._

_I shivered. "Come on Blue. We're almost home…" I was beginning to regret not taking Professor Oak's offer to walk me home._

_I was about to start walking again when the lighting flashed and the sound of thunder filled my ears once more. At the same time, I thought I heard another sound behind me._

"_Huh?" I turned. _

_Before I knew what was happening, something sharp and hard was gripping tightly around my whole body. I felt myself being lifted up into the air. I began to scream from fear and shock._

"_Help! Help!" As if to answer my cry, the thing carrying me let out a feral shriek and the thunder boomed again._

_After what felt like forever, I was dropped on the floor unceremoniously. I rolled a little ways before stopping. Shakily, I pushed myself to a sitting position. At that moment, I realized I wasn't alone._

_Standing in front of me were five figures. Two were girls, two were boys, and the last was a tall man or woman (it was hard to tell) wearing a long cloak. They were all wearing different clothes and had different hairstyles. The only similarity was that all of them were wearing eerie masks._

_Suddenly, the masked man (by now, I was assuming it was a man) flew toward me. I tried to crawl away, but he was quicker. He pushed something onto my face as I closed my eyes in fear. When I opened them, I realized I could only see through two slits. I was wearing one of the masks._

_The man began to laugh, stepping to the side, revealing a boy younger than me. He had shoulder-length red hair and was also wearing a mask. He immediately ran to me and I hugged him as he shivered in fear. _

"_I'm expecting wonderful achievements from you…as my able assistants!" crowed the masked man. His voice was raspy and to me, filled with evil delight. The others behind him also laughed. There was a loud cry behind me followed by a flash of light._

_I turned, still clutching onto the boy. For the first time, I caught sight of the thing that had carried me to this horrible place._

_It was a massive bird. Its body was red with a white underside. It also had green feathers at the tips of its wings and a green stripe around its neck. But the most noticeable feature of the creature was its eyes. They were gold colored, rimmed in black, and they stared at me with a hateful expression. It cried out again, shooting another blast of fire in the sky, before flying off._

_I stared after it, feeling my old life leaving with it._

**-end of flashback-**

"And that's what I dream about…and that's why I scream sometimes in my sleep…" I finished off. I twisted the blanket in my hands, waiting for Crys or Sapph to speak.

"That's all?"

"Sapph!" Crys yelled. "How could you say that?!?"

"What?" Sapph shouted back. I blinked at both of them in shock. Crys finally noticed my confusion and grinned slightly.

"I think what Sapph meant to say was, why didn't you tell this to us earlier?"

I paused. "I was worried that…"

"That we wouldn't want to be your friends? That we would abandon you?" Crys finished for me. I nodded slowly.

"We wouldn't do that!" Sapph cried out.

I must have looked surprised because Crys giggled. "Blue, we're your friends. Sure we might not know each other as well, but that's why you have to tell us these kinds of things. We're your friends no matter what happened or what might happen."

This time, I smiled back widely at them. "Thanks guys. Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Sure." Both of them nodded. Then Sapph yawned. "I'm sleepy…"

"You guys can go to bed now." I waved toward the door. "Hurry before Sapph falls asleep on the floor or something."

"Okay." They both walked towards the door. Crys turned before she reached it. "You can talk to me if you need to, okay?"

"Yeah, thank you guys for everything." The pair of them walked out. I waited until the door clicked shut before I let the grin on my face slide away. I sighed, squeezing my eyes tightly to prevent the tears from spilling out. Years of practice had helped me keep up this façade of perfection.

Once I had a hold of myself, I opened my eyes. I pushed back the sleeve of my PJs until I could see a very faint scar, one of the many mementos the past had left me. I ran my finger lightly over the scar, tracing over it. I pushed the sleeve back down and sighed, lying back down on the pillows and waiting for sleep (and the nightmare) to come.

**Green's P.O.V.**

"And that's what I dream about…and that's why I scream sometimes in my sleep…"

I stood outside Blue's door, listening to her tell the story of her past. Walking by her room to get to mine, I had stopped in front of her door when I heard her crying. I honestly couldn't believe that she had really been stolen, but hearing her voice shake as she spoke and listening to her choke back tears made me realize that all of it was true.

I moved back slightly as I heard footsteps approaching the door. Then, they stopped as Sapph spoke.

"So there anything else you want to tell us?"

There was a slight pause, before Blue answered. "…I can't remember my childhood…"

I heard a gasp (probably from Crystal.) "Nothing at all?"

The sounds of rustling blankets filled the silence. Then, "Not really…the doctors said it was because I was so traumatized from the kidnapping. After I returned home, I pretty much blocked out the whole experience, including my past childhood."

"So you can't remember any people or places or things?" For some reason, Sapphire's voice sounded strained and eager.

"…No. The doctors said that seeing certain objects that are related from my childhood might stimulate my brain and help me remember, but so far, nothing's worked."

"It's okay, I'm sure you'll remember soon." Crystal's voice sounded warm and comforting as she spoke.

I listened for more, but now it seemed like Crystal and Sapphire were leaving. Quickly, I walked back to my room, closing the door quietly behind me. I leaned against it thinking.

Things that might help her remember… I closed my eyes and opened them after a moment. I grabbed a Pokeball from my desk and opened the door. Going down the steps, I gripped the Pokeball tightly and thought about what I was doing. Hopefully, this wouldn't take too long.

I walked out the back door into the cool night air, sighing as I shut the door.

Was I really going to do this? Still, I had already come outside…might as well.

I threw the Pokeball before me. My Charizard came out, opening his mouth, about to roar loudly. I waved a hand at him, warning him to be quiet.

"C'mon Charizard. We have to go somewhere quickly." Nodding, he crouched down as I climbed on. "Let's go." With a few strong wing-beats, we were high up in the air and flying off to the destination I had in mind.

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**A/N:** Yeah...not a lot of action in this chapter, but more of Blue's past has been revealed! Um...I tried to keep them all as in-character as I could; sorry if Blue's a little off, but for this ch. she was supposed to be like that. Hopefully, she'll be more upbeat next ch. (we'll see...) Please review!


	17. Triggering Memories

Hi guys! Wow...I haven't updated this story in a while, but that's why I'm here now with a new chapter! As usual, thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Now, onto some questions you guys had: Sapph/Ruby's past/relationship will show up later, I'm not sure if I can include Silver in this story (sorry!), and the reason why Silver isn't going to K.E.P.A. is because Blue is here on scholarship. (Chapter 1 people!) Oh, and for those who are like, "Why is Silver living with Blue?!? Huh?!?", please be patient. All will be revealed later. Now, read on!

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon isn't mine! *weeps in corner*

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Blue's P.O.V.**

"Hey, is she awake?"

"Shh…she's not up yet. Don't make too much noise or you'll wake her up!"

"I'm not that noisy!"

I scrunched my eyes shut tighter before finally giving in and opening them slowly. At the foot of my bed, I could see Crys, Yellow, and Sapph.

"Hey guys…"

All three of them jumped slightly, startled. Then Crys turned to Sapph.

"I told you to be quiet! Now you woke Blue up and she needs rest!"

Sapph rolled her eyes and came over to the left side of my bed. She sat down next to me and asked, "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

I shook my head. "No, I should be getting up now anyways. What time is it?" I glanced to my right, checking the alarm clock. "It's 7:50 already?!? I'm going to be late!" (School began at 8:45, but we would have to walk, which took 45 minutes.)

Crys held up her hand in the "stop" signal. "You are _not_ going to school today." I opened my mouth to protest (after all, I was here on a scholarship), but Crys spoke first. "School is important, but your health is more important. Nurse Joy told us to tell you to stay home today and get some rest. If you rest today, you should be able to go back to school tomorrow."

"But…" I started. Mom and Dad were depending on me to use this opportunity/scholarship to the fullest. Sapph and Crys gave me stern looks, while Yellow looked concerned. "Fine," I sighed in defeat. "But I'm definitely going back tomorrow."

"Good." Crys nodded, satisfied. "Now we better get going if we don't want to be late." Sapph sighed. Obviously she wasn't looking forward to school. Crys pointed to a button on the side of the nightstand. "That buzzer will call one of the maids if you need anything. We'll be back as soon as possible."

The three of them left, waving to me. I waved back until the door shut. Sighing, I turned to the pile of books on my desk. Might as well start studying…

**-3 hr. later-**

"I can't do this anymore…or else my brain's going to explode…" I moaned to myself, shutting the heavy English textbook in my lap. Looking at the clock, I realized it was almost 11. As if on cue, my stomach growled.

"Guess that means it's lunch time." Normally, I wouldn't be hungry until about 12, but I hadn't eaten breakfast. Swinging my legs to the side of the bed, I stood up.

"Whoa…" I clutched my head for a second, still slightly woozy. "Maybe I shouldn't have gotten up so quickly." I glanced back at the button on the nightstand, considering just ordering food to be brought up. After a moment, I decided against it; I needed to get out of here or else I'd go insane!

Crossing the room, I opened the bedroom door slowly, poking my head out and looking left and right. Knowing Crys, she probably had all the maids/servants on high alert to make sure I didn't sneak out of bed. Seeing that the coast was clear, I was about to walk out when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I jumped back in, closing the door until only a crack remained.

The footsteps got louder. Peeking out, I saw who was coming. It was Green! He continued walking slowly, pausing when he was in front of my door. He turned slightly, as though he was about to come in. I shrunk back, not wanting him to see me. Then he sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and walked slowly into his room.

"What was that about?" I muttered. "And why wasn't he in school today?" I walked out of the room, still wondering.

**-after school-**

"Hi Blue! We're back!"

I looked up from the page I'd been staring at blankly for the past ten minutes. Crys and Yellow walked in with Sapph behind them.

"Hey guys! I've been so bored staying here!" I said, slamming the book closed and throwing it onto the table. Crys winced. (Obviously, she did _not_ take book abuse well.)

"Um…we brought your homework assignments Blue," Yellow piped up shyly. She held up a thick stack of papers, clearly struggling. I groaned, but gestured to the desk, indicating for Yellow to put the papers down, which she did gladly.

"Long day?" Sapph asked, sitting down at the foot of my bed.

I nodded. "For once, I actually missed school…even if it is filled with snobs." Being stuck in a empty house (servants don't count) all day was boring.

Suddenly, Crys turned around and smiled (finished with her book abuse mourning). "I've got something that might cheer you up!" She walked out of the room and came back just as quickly. "Here." She held out something to me.

I stared at the bundle in her hand. "Flowers?"

The bouquet of flowers in Crys' hand was a simple bunch. They were blue flowers, though a variety that I'd never seen before, similar to roses, but slightly different. They were also tied together with a mint green ribbon at the stem part.

"We found them when we came home," Yellow said. "They were on the front step, but they weren't here when we left this morning."

"They came with this." Sapph handed me a small card.

Wordlessly, I took both the flowers and the card. All that was written on the card was "Get well soon," in dark green pen. The writing was elegant and unfamiliar.

"Do you know who gave it to you?" Yellow asked. Crys, and even Sapph, leaned forward eagerly.

I shook my head. "I've never seen this handwriting before. Or these flowers," I looked down at the garland in my lap. "I have absolutely no idea who gave these to me…Wait; did you guys give this to me?" I looked at the three of them suspiciously.

Both Yellow and Sapph shook their heads, looking confused. Crys rolled her eyes, looking slightly exasperated. "Blue, as much as we would have liked to get you flowers, we didn't have the time to." Seeing my expression, she held up a hand. "Wait." Then, she rushed out of the room.

Two minutes later, Crys was back, holding a hefty red book. Setting it down onto the bed, she flipped through it quickly before stopping at a page. "Look," she said, pointing to a picture. I looked down and saw a picture of the exact same flowers in my lap.

"These flowers only grow in a certain part of Kanto near Pallet town. Even if we had flown there to get them, we would have taken all night and not have been back this morning in time to see you. Plus, they're fresh, so obviously, we didn't give them to you!" Crys finished.

"Okay…" I nodded, "Then I wonder who gave them to me…"

Sapph shrugged. "Beats me."

"Looks like someone's got a secret admirer," Crys grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "As if!" Then I paused. "Wait; don't you and Sapph have tutoring?" Crys shook her head.

"Professor Oak excused us for yesterday and today's lesson, since we're busy taking care of you." Sapph nodded in agreement before rubbing her stomach.

"I'm hungry…"

Crys sighed. "Again?" Sapph nodded. "Alright then. Let's go down and leave Blue alone for a while to rest."

The three walked out assuring me that they'd be back soon. I watched them leave and looked down at the flowers still sitting in my lap.

"Who would give these to me?" I held them up. They were extremely beautiful, seeming to glow slightly in the fading sunlight. "Maybe it was Red…" I sighed hopefully. I put my face closer to the flowers, inhaling their sweet scent. Suddenly, an odd memory ran through my mind.

**-flashback-**

"Hurry up!"

The young girl ran through the thick brush, nimbly avoiding the sharp bushes and pointy branches. She looked back at the boy who looked about the same age as the girl, struggling to keep up. He frowned, tugging at his sleeve that had gotten caught on a branch.

"Where are we going anyways?" he called out in a sulky tone.

The girl giggled. "You'll see!" She began to race forward once more and with one last pull, the boy freed himself and followed.

After a few minutes of silent weaving through the confusing woods (except for some occasional laughter from the girl and muttering from the boy), the girl stopped. The boy, too caught up in unhooking himself from thorns, almost ran into her.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking around in awe. The pair was now standing in a clearing. However, the whole area was covered in blue flowers, swaying gently in the wind. It was a rather breathtaking place.

"Isn't it great?" the girl piped up. "Me and Puriri found it!"

The boy didn't answer for a moment, still looking around. Finally, he tore his eyes away and looked down at the girl. "What are you doing?"

The girl was sitting, legs tucked under herself, on the ground with a few flowers in her hands. She didn't answer, too focused on the item in her hands. After a few minutes, she stood up. She placed the thing in her hands onto the boy's head. Immediately he pulled back, feeling the top of his head.

"It's a crown!" the girl shouted happily. "See? I have one too!" She placed another wreath of blue flowers onto her head. "Now we can be the prince and princess of this place!"

The boy shook his head. "Pesky girl…"

The girl ignored him; weaving yet another crown. The boy watched her, hiding a small smile. "But I wouldn't have you any other way…Blue."

**-end flashback-**

I opened my eyes when a knock on my door startled me. I cleared my throat before calling out. "Come in!"

The door opened, revealing Red and surprisingly, Green. Red walked in hesitantly with Green following awkwardly.

"Hey Blue. We just wanted to see how you were doing," Red started. I smiled and blushed slightly. Red was so kind; even though me being sick had nothing to do with him, he still cared enough to check on me.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking!" I answered cheerfully. "Oh, and I'll return your handkerchief soon. I keep forgetting. Sorry."

Red shook his head. "It's okay. You can keep it." Green still hadn't said anything, but gave Red an odd look at our conversation about the handkerchief.

"Anyways," I looked back at Red as he spoke. "Who gave you those?"

I looked at what Red was pointing to. It was the flowers. "Oh these? I don't know. Yellow, Crys, and Sapph brought them up, saying they were on the doorstep."

Red nodded, still staring at them. "I want to know who gave them to me, but they only left me a note," I added, hinting heavily.

"Can I see the note?" Red asked. I nodded, about the hand him the note when Green cleared his throat. Red stopped. "Oh, sorry Blue! I just remembered that I told Green that I'd practice battling with him and it's already getting late. We only came up to check on you."

"Oh. Okay, thanks!" I said. "Um…and thank you for carrying me back here when I fainted," I added, looking at Green. He nodded curtly, staring at the bouquet. I glanced at it then back to Green.

"Anyways, we've got to go." Red's voice interrupted my thoughts. I nodded as the two turned to walk out. Suddenly I remembered something Crys had said about the location of the flowers.

"Wait!" Both of them turned. "Did you go anywhere last night?" I asked, directing the question to Red. He shook his head with a puzzled expression on his face. "No. Why?

I blushed, feeling slightly dumb for bringing up the question. "No reason. Sorry."

Red nodded and walked out with Green close behind. Just as he closed the door, Green looked back, staring intently at first the flowers and then at me. I stared in confusion as the door shut. Could it be that Green was the one…?

**Green's P.O.V.**

"Go Pika!"

The lightening mouse came out of Red's Pokeball with a shrill cry. I tossed out my Golduck, mind still on Blue.

Had she remembered those flowers? Did she recognize me writing? (It was a good thing I'd distracted Red from the note; he would recognize the writing.) And would she remember the ribbon?

**-flashback-**

"Happy birthday Green!"

I glanced stoically at Blue. "It's not my birthday."

She pouted at me, hands on her hips rather awkwardly, seeing how she was holding a small package in her right hand. "I know that silly! But I didn't give you a present yet for your last birthday and we've known each other for a long time!"

"We've known each other for a week." I turned back to the Rattata I was grooming.

"That's a long time!" Blue cried out. I stroked the Rattata as it jumped at Blue's voice and glared at Blue. "Besides," she continued. "Five years old is a really important birthday!"

She shoved the present into my hands, forcing me to drop the brush. The Rattata jumped off the table and scampered off. I stared down at the messily (and badly) wrapped present and then at Blue's eager face. Sighing, I began to unwrap it.

"Do you like it?" she asked anxiously.

I stared down at the item in the box in disbelief. In it was a Metal Coat. I continued to gaze at it in shock.

"Well?" Do you like it?" Blue pressed, sounding nervous. (Probably because of my lack of response.)

"…How did you afford it?" I finally said.

Blue shrugged. "I saved up my allowance." I didn't believe her. A Metal Coat cost much more than a week's worth of allowance.

"Tell me the truth."

Blue sighed. "Well, I've been saving for a couple of months for this special ribbon I saw at the dress store, but since you're my best friend, I decided to buy this for you instead."

I held out the Metal Coat to Blue. She looked confused. "Return it. Buy the ribbon instead."

Blue shook her head from side to side vigorously. "No way!" She shoved my hands closer to my body. "Keep it! It's my gift to you."

"But…" Blue looked sternly at me. "Look, one day when I get a Pokemon, we'll trade and your Scyther will evolve. Then, we'll trade back!" Suddenly, she turned. "I have to go home now for dinner! See you tomorrow!"

I stared after Blue, clutching onto the Metal Coat, still in amazement.

-the next day(still in flashback)-

"Hi Green!"

I stood up from where I had been sitting on the grass. "Here."

Blue stopped, looking confused. "What is it?"

I didn't say anything, still holding out the little bundle. Blue took it, still looking perplexed at my odd behavior. I watched her as she opened it slowly.

"I'm sorry it's not very pretty…and that it's used… It was my mom's," I started. "I wanted to buy you the one you were talking about, but I don't get an allowance, because Grandpa's raising me, Daisy, and all the Pokemon at the lab…"

Blue didn't speak, pulling out the tattered green ribbon from the bag I'd wrapped it in. I watched apprehensively as she held it in her hand and looked at it.

I opened my mouth to offer to take it back and apologize. Suddenly, "I love it!" Blue squealed, hurling herself at me and throwing her arms around my neck. I stepped back in shock as Blue hugged me, before pulling away.

Quickly, she pulled some of her hair back, leaving most of it down, and tied that part up with the ribbon. "Well? How's it look?" She spun around in a circle, touching her hair anxiously.

"Beautiful…" I said. Blue smiled at me, giving me another hug. "Thanks Green!"

**-end flashback-**

"Thunderbolt Pika!"

"Chuuuu!" A huge blast of lightening struck my Golduck, immediately knocking it out. I blinked in shock as Red whooped in delight.

"Guess you better focus better Green!" he yelled over at me.

I shook my head and pulled out another Pokeball. This wasn't over yet.

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**A/N:** Done! As to the handkerchief thing, that refers to ch.2 for those of you who have forgotten. Um...I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please REVIEW!

**Important**: I asked you guys this a couple of chapters ago, but I'll ask again...Please submit any and all last names you have for **Gold**, **Crystal**, **Ruby**, and **Blue**! If you've already submitted them, please send them to me again (sorry for the trouble!). You can either put them in your review or PM me. Preferably any Japanese last names (because they are Japanese, duh!) But please, send any ideas for last names!


	18. Slip Ups and Phone Calls

Hello everyone! Let's see...first of all, thank you to everyone who reviewed! And thank you to everyone who submited last names! (I will be using them next ch. or the one after that.) You may still submit last names or re-submit them if you don't like the ones you submitted before. (By the way, I would prefer Japanese last names, because they are Japanese, but all names will be considered. Also, it'd be nice if the names have a meaning. Again, doesn't have to as long as it sounds good with the first name. So shallow...XP) Anyways, theis ch. is dedicated to Gold (and mangaquestshipping) since his b-day just passed. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOLD!!! XD Um...excuse my randomness... Please read and review!

**Disclaimer**: Alas, pokemon is not mine...so sad...TT_TT (crying face for those who can't see it)

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**Crystal's P.O.V.**

"Latias, Sapph is such a Grumpig sometimes…" I sighed, scrubbing hard at yet another one of Sapph's dirty dishes.

We had just finished eating the stew that I'd whipped up quickly and now I was washing the dishes. Both Sapph and Yellow had offered to help, but seeing how sleepy Yellow was, and how clumsy Sapph was with fragile things, I'd declined.

I sighed again as I reached for another dish in the seemingly endless stack of bowls and plates. I was used to this type of work though. Household chores such as cleaning and cooking were as natural as breathing to me since my mother left me home alone so often. She had been an expert catcher, working under Professor Oak, often traveling for months at a time. (Now retired, she simply roamed.) When I turned 14, mother had told me that the professor was offering me a spot at the prestigious K.E.P.A. Obviously, I accepted immediately.

"What're you sighing for Ms. Serious?"

I spun around quickly, still holding a soapy sponge in one hand and a dirty plate in the other. Gold was leaning on the counter across from me with an amused look on his face. I glared at him, before turning back to the dishes.

"Washing dishes," I answered shortly.

"Why?"

"Because we just ate dinner."

I saw Gold slide next to me, folding his arms on the counter and putting his head on his arms. He looked up sideways at me as I pretended not to see him. "I noticed you weren't at the dining hall today Super-Serious Gal."

"I wasn't there. Anyways, why would you notice if I'm there or not?"

"Duh!" Gold's voice rose. "Of course I would know if a pretty gal like you isn't there!"

Immediately, I felt my cheeks start to heat up. I looked away to my left, not wanting Gold to see me blushing. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"So why weren't you there?" he pressed.

"Sapph, Yellow, and I decided to eat here since Blue is still sick. Professor Oak gave us permission to stay here for dinner," I said. Normally, it was mandatory for all students to go to the dining hall to eat dinner, because the school wanted to make sure that all the stick-thin rich girls actually ate something at least once a day. (This didn't stop most of them from throwing up what they ate afterwards though.)

Suddenly, something cold and wet hit my face. I blinked, gasping in shock. I turned to Gold and glared. "What was that for?!?" I sputtered out.

Gold stood there with a grin on his face, one hand in the clean side of the sink that I had filled with water to rinse the dishes. His grin only got bigger as I gaped at him. "Your face was getting too serious," he said to me.

"There's nothing wrong with being serious, you know! You should try it once in a while; it might help you shape up!"

Once again, a mini wave of water hit me in the face. Gold smirked. "Stop scolding me. It's getting annoying."

I fumed, both at his remarks and being splashed twice. Not thinking clearly, I dropped the sponge, along with the plate into the water and scooped up a handful of water. Then, I threw it at Gold.

His reaction was similar to mine; a leap back and a shout. I expected him to get mad. What I didn't expect was for him to laugh (which is exactly what he did).

"Looks like you do know how to have fun, Serious Gal!" Gold said happily. He splashed another handful of water at me.

"Ew! Gold, stop!" I cried out, fending myself with my arms. Gold continued to splash me, ignoring my pleas.

"Gold!" By now, the only thing I was thinking about was to get Gold to stop throwing water at me. "Stop!" I yelled, dragging my arm through the water and upwards, soaking Gold's whole shirt. I gasped, as Gold looked down in shock.

"I-I'm sorry!" I said in shock, still staring at Gold.

Gold looked up at me, his eyes wide. Then, they narrowed as an evil smirk stretched across his face. I backed up, slightly fearful of the expression Gold had.

"What are you doing?" I asked, still backing up.

Gold didn't answer, scooping water up in both hands, before flinging it at me.

"Gold!" I continued to back away as Gold pursued me, still splashing relentlessly. Puddles were now forming all over the floor where Gold had spilled water carelessly. I opened my mouth to yell at him for the mess he made, just as I felt myself slip on one of those puddles.

"Ah-!" The last thing I registered as I fell was Gold's surprised expression as he tried to slow down.

"Thud-!" I winced, crashing onto the cold marble floor.

"Whoa-!" I opened my eyes, just in time to see Gold slip on the very same puddle I'd slipped on. I watched, dazed, as he fell straight at me. I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact.

**Gold's P.O.V.**

"Ah-!"

I watched in shock as Crys slipped on a puddle, twist around to try and grab the counter, miss, and fall flat onto her back. I reached out to try and grab her, but I wasn't quick enough. I winced as Crys fell onto the ground and ran over quickly to check on her. Too bad I didn't notice the puddle she'd slipped on before.

"Whoa-!" I slid, flailing wildly, trying to regain my balance. The next thing I knew, I tripped over something (probably Crys' foot) and felt myself falling forward. I closed my eyes, knowing this wouldn't end well.

**-20 seconds later-**

"Ow…" I groaned quietly, my voice muffled against something. Whatever it was, it was soft and slightly warm… I raised my head slightly and looked at what I was laying on.

Crys glared down at me; her head raised slightly so she could see me. I was currently sprawled over her, with both her legs between mine, and my arms on either side (from trying to stop my fall). I looked down, realizing just where I was.

**Crystal's P.O.V.**

"That hurt…" I moaned, feeling the cold, unrelenting ground hard against my back. I opened my eyes slowly and realized that something, or rather, _someone_ was on top of me. I looked down, hoping this was all a dream.

Nope. Gold was lying straight on top of me; legs on either side of mine and arms almost touching mine. What was even worse was where his face was.

"Ow…" I reddened, feeling Gold's breath on me. I felt my eye twitch as he lifted his head from where it had been pressed against my _chest_. He looked at my expression and then back down at where he was currently lying. Gold's mouth dropped in shock.

"Get off of me!" I shrieked as Gold just laid there.

Instead of moving, Gold simply propped himself up on his elbows over me and grinned. "Why?"

"Because I'm cold, tired, and annoyed that you're still laying on me!" I yelled up at him. "Besides, you're heavy!"

Gold gave me a fake wounded expression. "Aw…are you calling me fat?"

"Yes! I mean, no! Agh! Just get off!" I shouted, flustered. It was hard to concentrate since Gold's face was only a few inches away from mine. (By now, he was hovering over me, having pushed himself to my face level.) Suddenly Gold dropped the hurt face as a sly grin took its place.

"You like this, don't you Ms. Serious?" he said, cocking his head slightly.

I could practically feel my face reddening as Gold's eyes bore down on me. "N-No! Just move!"

"No." Gold's voice dropped into a deeper, more serious tone. "I like this…" He bent his head closer to mine. "…and I think you do too," he whispered seductively into my right ear.

Now I was certain my face was as red as a Tamato berry. "W-what are you talking about?!?" I managed to say. From the way he was looking at me, I knew Gold knew that I was getting flustered.

I realized that Gold had now moved from next to my ear to being about 5 inches away from my face. His grin was now predatory and his eyes gleamed. "You know…I really like you Super-Serious Gal…" He bent his head closer to mine as he spoke.

I stared, paralyzed in shock and practically in a trance as his face came closer to mine. With a sudden jolt, I realized he was going to kiss me! Unfortunately, my mind blanked out and my muscles decided to go on hold at that moment.

"Crystal, can you help me…oh!"

Both my head and Gold's head turned simultaneously to look at the source of the intrusion. Yellow stood there with both hands over her open mouth. (I couldn't tell whether she was holding back a scream or a gasp. Probably both.)

"Ah-! Please excuse me!" she squeaked out, dashing away the room.

"Well," Gold said, sitting up, "That was unexpected."

The random interruption finally broke my frozen state. "Get off me!" This time, I shoved Gold hard and stood up, putting my hands on my hips. "I have no idea why you just did that, but that could be counted as an assault!"

Gold rolled his eyes. "Whatever Serious Gal. You liked it!"

I shook with fury at his brazenness. Reaching out, I slapped him. "You're such a pervert!"

"And you're so serious. But you don't see me complaining!" he threw back at me.

"You're such a child Gold!" I shouted back in frustration. I stomped my foot in anger and annoyance as I spoke.

Gold raised an eyebrow. "Wow, I can't believe you just stomped your foot. I thought girls only did that in movies."

"Ugh! Just grow up!" I yelled back, stomping away and out of the room.

"Wait!" Gold called out. "Don't you have to finish washing the dishes?"

"You do it!" I shouted. "It might help you learn some responsibility!" I sighed heavily and went to go find Yellow to apologize and explain the situation.

**Normal P.O.V.**

"Damn," Gold sighed. "And she was just starting to loosen up…" He picked himself off the ground, looking down at his drenched shirt in dismay. Then he shrugged. "Guess I better go find a maid." Gold walked out of the kitchen, whistling, in search of a maid, leaving a very wet kitchen behind him.

**Blue's P.O.V.**

"May I come in Blue?"

"Yeah, come in!" I called out from my bed. Currently I was sitting on it, finishing my last few homework assignments.

Yellow walked in, her face a light shade of pink. She looked up and gave me a small smile before speaking. "There's a phone call for you Blue."

"For me?" I repeated, already getting out of the bed. "Who is it?"

Yellow shrugged. "It's on hold in one of the living rooms. The one next to the kitchen." As Yellow said this, her blush intensified.

"Oh, ok." I started to walk toward the door. "Wait! Shouldn't you still be in bed?" Yellow cried out.

"It's fine," I said. "I'll only be gone a minute. Don't tell Crys!" Before Yellow could protest again, I was out the door and walking down the stairs.

**-4 flights of stairs later-**

"Ok, someone seriously needs to install an elevator in here," I grumbled, finally arriving in the designated living room. The phone sat in a corner on a desk with a comfy chair in front of it. I sat down, pressing the flashing hold button.

Instantly, two figures flashed onto the screen; a dark haired man with glasses and a brunette woman. "Mom! Dad!" I said aloud in surprise.

"Blue!" Dad said. "We've been trying to reach you for quite some time! Every time we called, they said you were asleep."

"Are you okay, dear?" Mom asked. "They said you had a bit of a fever."

"I'm fine mom," I reassured her. "I'm all better now."

Mom sighed. "I knew that I should have made you pack more of your winter clothes! Kanto's weather is so much colder than Sevii's. And have you been eating well? You look thinner."

I sweatdropped. "It's fine mom. The weather isn't that cold and yes, I have been eating plenty!" I paused. "Wait…didn't you guys tell me that you've never been to Kanto?"

Mom stopped rambling and dad stepped in. "We've been watching the news Blue. Besides, Kanto is well known as the coldest region besides Sinnoh." Dad turned. "Now why don't you talk to Silver?" He lowered his voice. "I think he's been worried about you. And he's a bit lonely."

I frowned slightly, feeling guilty. "Yeah. Put him on dad."

There were a few muffled sounds as dad ushered mom (who was still babbling about my health and well-being) away and Silver sat down. "Hi Blue."

"Hey Silver!" I said as cheerfully as I could. "How have things been at home?"

"Everything's fine. It's a little quiet without you around."

"Are you okay? Dad said you seemed lonely," I asked.

Silver paused. I could tell he was thinking. "It's a bit lonely…" he said. "I've never been away from you for this long before."

I cringed. "Sorry Silver. Maybe I should come home…"

Silver shook his head. "No. You've earned that scholarship. You should use it to the fullest. You're always thinking of me first. I want you to put yourself first for once."

I smiled. "Thanks Silver."

"Anyways, how are things at school?" he continued. "Make any new friends?"

"Most of the people here are total snobs." I said, wrinkling my nose at the thought of my classmates. "But, yeah, I've made some friends…"

We continued to talk for a long time about everything from school to our pokemon to any random thing we could think of. "Yeah! And then she was like, no way!" I giggled as Silver smiled at my enthusiasm.

Suddenly, Green walked in and looked slightly surprised that I was sitting there in the corner. I could see him peering over at the monitor of the phone where Silver was. Oddly enough, Green's face darkened as he turned away and walked out.

"Who was that?" Silver asked.

"Green," I answered simply. "He's in the same grade as me."

Silver frowned. "Stay away from him. I don't like the way he was looking at you."

I nodded as Silver looked to his left. "Well, I've got to go Blue; mom's calling me. Talk to you soon."

"Okay, bye Silver!" I hung up the phone and stood up, stretching.

As I walked back to my room, I was thinking. What was with that look Green gave to Silver (or was it me?). I yawned, too tired to wonder about it any longer. I decided to think about it tomorrow as I climbed up the stairs and back to my room.

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**A/N: **Yay, mangaquestshippyness! Hope it was okay; I've actually been dying to write that scene for a while. And sorry if the ending seemed a bit...slow/mellow(?), but it was there for a reason. Plus, Silver made a small apperance (for all you Silver fangirls/boys), just to show you that he is still living in my story. Please review!!!


	19. Contests, Battles, Pikachus, and Deals

Hi people! Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter; you guy's are too cool! Your reviews help me when I write, so please review! Let's see...you can still send in last names/surnames (I think this will probably be your last chance, so SEND THEM IN!!!), preferably Japanese names w/meanings (doesn't have to have a meaning, but it would be nice). And, that's about it...please REVIEW!!!

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon isn't mine.

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**Blue's P.O.V.**

"Hey, did you guys hear about it?"

"Huh?" I looked up from the piece of lettuce I'd been poking around my plate for the last five minutes; too busy mulling over Green's odd expression last night.

Sapph rolled her eyes at my obliviousness. "The annual K.E.P.A. C & B Tournament!"

"The what?" I asked in confusion.

"The annual K.E.P.A. C & B Tournament is the yearly Contest and Battling tournament held by the school," Crys explained. "Actually, they're two separate categories, but you can enter both."

Sapph nodded. "Yeah, but who would want to do contests anyways? They're for wimps!"

"What do you do in them?" We had no such things in Sevii and _very_ limited television programs.

"You dress up your pokemon and have them perform interesting appeals. Then, you battle different opponents, trying to use their moves in ways that are also appealing."

I nodded, impressed by Crys' knowledge on all of this. "So are you guys planning to join?" Sapph asked excitedly.

"Mm…I'll have to think about it," Crys answered. "My scheduales pretty packed anyways, what with helping the professor, schoolwork, the daycare center, and ugh…tutoring…" She shuddered.

I shrugged. "Maybe. What about you Yellow?"

"Hm?" Yellow looked up at me in surprise and blushed. "I don't think I'll participate. I don't like battles…"

"What?!?" Sapph yelled out in outrage. "Battles are awesome!"

Yellow cowered slightly at Sapph's expression. I quickly stepped in. "It's fine Yellow. Not everyone has to battle." I turned to Sapph. "Besides, if less people compete, you'll have a greater chance of winning anyways."

Sapph sat back, satisfied. "Yeah, I guess."

"Oh!" We all looked at Yellow. "I have to go now." She stood up, taking her tray with her and throwing it away. "See you guys later!"

We watched her walk out of the cafeteria quickly. "Huh, I wonder where she goes," Crys mused as Sapph and I both shrugged.

**Yellow's P.O.V.**

"Smile!"

I blinked, both in surprise and in shock at the sudden flash that erupted from the camera Red held in his hands. He grinned and held up the photo. "Perfect." The expression on my face was utter surprise, mouth and eyes wide open.

"Ah, please throw that away!" I protested. Red shrugged and pocketed it. I frowned slightly, but decided to ignore it for now, walking over to the closet. Red followed.

"So, what are you dong today?"

"Nothing much; just the usual painting," I said, grabbing some paints here and there from various shelves.

Red and I had been meeting up the past few days in the Art Room ever since our first meeting. I found out Red was a very pleasant person, quite polite and kind, though he seemed to have a bit of a wild streak (but not as much as my cousin). I also found out some facts about him; such as that he was one grade higher than me, that he liked chocolate, and that he lived by himself. (His parents had also died when he was young. Both of them were archeologist and had died in an accident involving a landslide; leaving Red alone at the age of twelve.)

I set up all the things necessary for painting and started by dabbing my brush in a jar of green paint. Red watched silently behind me, taking pictures every now and then.

"Why are you always taking pictures?" I asked, trying to start a conversation.

Red shrugged. "Some are for class, some of them I just keep. Dang; ran out of film." He walked over to his backpack in the corner and opened it. Suddenly, something yellow flew out.

I immediately jumped up. "What was that?!?"

Red ran after the yellow blur that was running around, finally managing to corner and grab it. "Gothcha!" He held up the squirming bundle of fur. "This is my Pikachu, Pika."

I walked over cautiously. The Pikachu stopped wiggling and cocked its head in curiousity. "Chuu?"

"Ah, you're adorable!" I said, petting it gently.

"Pikaaaa…." it purred. Suddenly, Pika jumped into my arms. I was surprised, but caught him readily.

"Wow, Pika seems to really like you," Red commented, looking impressed. "He only let's people he likes hold him.

I smiled modestly, still petting Pika. "I have a Pikachu too."

"Really?" Red smirked. "Is it in here?" He opened my bag swiftly, rummaged through it briefly, and pulled out a Pokeball triumphatly. "Is this it?"

"Ah! Yes, but…we're not suppoused to have Pokemon with us in school," I said hesitantly.

"Then why do you have this?" Red asked, throwing the pokeball up in the air and catching it. "I really wouldn't expect you to be a rule breaker, Yellow."

"My uncle told me to keep a Pokeball with me at all times for protection," I admited. "He said that girls should always have a Pokemon with them just in case something bad happens."

Red nodded, inspecting the Pokeball. Suddenly he threw it onto the ground as I watched in shock. From it popped my Pikachu, Chuchu. She blinked up at us all in surprise. "Pikachu?"

I noticed Pika, who was still in my arms, tense up at the sound at another Pikachu. His eyes opened as he peered down drowily at Chuchu. I felt him stiffen as he caught sight of her. Suddenly he jumped down in front of her and cocked his head. "Pikaaaa."

"Chu?" Chuchu moved a little closer to Pika. "Pikachu."

"Pikapika!" Hesitantly, Pika moved closer to Chuchu before going over and nuzzling her. Chuchu nuzzled him back.

"Well…guess they like each other," Red said in surprise.

"I-I guess so," I answered, still watching the two Pokemon converse with each other.

"Oh yeah, my camera!" Red exclaimed suddenly. He pulled it out and began to take pictures of Pika and Chuchu. I watched him and picked up my sketchpad and a pencil, quickly drawing the two Pikachu and capturing the moment.

"So are you joining the battle or contest competition?" Red asked as we contiued to snap photos and draw in silence.

I shook my head. "I don't think so…I don't like battles."

Red raised an eyebrow. "What about contests?"

"Well, you'd still have to battle…" I said slowly, darkening Pika's tail. "And I'm not very good at battles."

"You could still try though," Red said to me. "You don't have to win, it's all for fun. Besides, I'm sure you'll do great!"

I blushed. "Thank you Red."

We continued our work in the Art Room as the two Pokemon continued to play with one another.

**Ruby's P.O.V.**

"Sapphire!"

Sapph turned as I called out, the look on her face extremely annoyed. "What?"

I immediately stopped at both her tone and her pissed off expression. "Geez, what's got you angrier than a meowth with water dumped on it?"

I stepped back as Sapph stood up, body rigid and fists clenched. "I'm pissed off because you keep showing up around here and because you _still_ refuse to BATTLE me!"

I sighed loudly. "That's why you're so mad? And I thought you were PMSing…" I muttered to myself.

"What did you just say?" Sapph practically growled out.

"Nothing," I replied quickly. "But I've told you before, I hate battling."

"Just once! C'mon, I'll just defeat your pokemon super fast and I promise I won't laugh at you about it for too long," Sapph said.

"Wow, what an offer," I said sarcastically. "But no Sapph, I refuse to battle at all. _Nothing_ you say can change my mind."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing at all," I repeated firmly.

Sapph frowned. "Even if I let you tutor me?"

"No, I think I'd rather fail than battle again." I shuddered, some bad memories stirring in my mind.

**-flashback-**

"Run!"

The shout came from a small boy wearing a white and black cloth hat, directed at an equally small girl wearing a pink dress with frills. He shouted again. "Run!"

The girl stood shaking there in terror as a large, shadowy figure advanced on her.

The boy ran forward as the figure swiped a large paw at the girl. "No!!!!!"

**-end flashback-**

"Ruby!"

"Wha-?" I blinked in shock as Sapph shook me furiously. "What happened?"

Sapph raised her eyebrows in surprise as she released me. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" I cocked my head in confusion at her. "You blanked out on me," she explained.

"I was thinking," I said quickly. "Yeah, I was thinking…"

"Hm," Sapph said, already over this conversation. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Question?"

"Yeah. Are you going to battle me?"

I shook my head furiously. "No, I've said it a million times before."

Sapph sighed in disappointment. "And you're certain?"

I was about to tell her to stop pestering me about this subject when an entirely different thought than the dark ones from before came into my mind. "Ok, I'll battle you…"

Sapph frowned, expecting another rejection, and then brightened as she realized my answer. "REALLY?"

I nodded and then added, "On two conditions."

"What conditions?" Now Sapph had a suspicious expression on her face.

"One," I held up a finger, "you have to let me tutor you." Sapph nodded, already knowing I would say this. "And two," I held up a second finger, "You have to participate in the contest challenge for the school tournament."

"WHAT?!?" Sapph shrieked, sending flocks of Pidgey flying out of the trees and cawing in terror.

"You heard me," I said calmly. "You have to join the contest part of the competition." I smiled smugly, knowing that Sapph would never compete in a contest.

Strangely enough, she didn't refuse right away. Instead, she was silent, as though she were actually considering it. She turned and gave me a grin. "Okay, I'll do it."

Now it was my turn to be surprised. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "But if I join the contest challenge, you have to join the battle tournament."

I thought about it. If I accepted, then Sapph would let me tutor her and she would have to dress up and compete in a contest. But, I would also have to battle her and compete in the battle tournament.

"Fine, I'll do it," I finally said. After all, I could simply lose quickly in the first round of the battle tournament and be over with it. "Do you want to battle now?" I asked dubiously.

Sapph smirked. "No, I won't battle you now. We'll wait until we face off against each other in the battle or contest section. If I win you in the contest and the battle challenge, you continue to tutor me, but if you lose both, than I don't have to let you tutor me. Deal?"

I hesitated for only a second, looking down at Sapph's pointy grin and outstretched hand, knowing this was probably going to be the best offer I was going to get. "Deal," I sighed, putting my hand in Sapph's and shaking, sealing our little deal.

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**A/N:** Okay, so not a lot of action/shippyness, but I promise it'll start getting better from here. (This was mostly an "explanation" chapter; to let you know where the contest/battle tournament comes in.) Ah, very **IMPORTANT**: Please tell me which Dex Holder you want to compete in what category. (Ex: Red-Battling/Contest) You can choose for them to be in all, one, or both, and I'll choose from majority, so please review and tell me. (Please list them in this order: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Gold, Crystal. Ruby and Sapph have no choice; they're doing both.;D)BTW, I'll only write the important battles/contests, not all of them, because a. I'm not great at that kind of stuff (I'll do my best though!) and b. you guys like it when I write shippy things better, ne? Still, I'll do my best! And please send in your last names/surnames. Thanks! Please REVIEW! (It's majorly important!!!)


	20. Applications and Decisions

Hey guys! Um, first thing is that I don't need your surnames/last names this ch...heh heh, sorry... But I will need them next ch. (or the next :P) so send them in! And, as usual, thank you to everyone who reviewed! (Over 200 reviews; thank you reviewers!) Your reviews are much appreciated and help me write! Let's see...now for answers to reviews... Many thanks to **Tarerin** for pointing out my extrememly dumb/embarassing mistake about Red's parents/dad (I will fix that later in the story. Thank you for pointing it out!) And thanks goes to everyone who gave me their opinions on who should compete in what! Now read on! (And review ;D)

**Disclaimer: **Pokemon isn't mine...as usual...

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Crystal's P.O.V.

"Gold!"

"Hey Kisa!"

I turned in surprise, practically dropping my broom in shock as I watched Kisa tear herself away from her group of friends and run to Gold. Immediately, he caught her in his arms, tossing her up and down, giving her a hug, and setting her down gently. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Kisa grabbed Gold's hand and pulled him toward my direction.

Feeling oddly nervous, I clutched the handle of the broom tightly, looking anywhere but at Gold and Kisa. Before I could do anything, they were right in front of me.

"Look Crystal! It's Gold!" Kisa cried out, still holding Gold's hand.

"Um…yeah. Hi Gold…" I murmured.

Gold nodded, smiling. "What's up, Crys?"

"Nothing much…" I muttered. An awkward silence ensued as I waited for Gold to speak. Instead, he stood there, staring at me. I began to feel uncomfortable under his gaze. "What…"

"Hey!" Both Gold and I looked down, startled by Kisa's sudden outburst. She had a look of confusion on her face. "How come you didn't hug Gold, Crystal? Isn't he your boyfriend too?"

"Yeah Crystal; how come you didn't hug me?" Gold repeated. The corners of his mouth turned up into a smirk.

I blinked, mouth agape, trying to think of something to say. "I….um…I…"

Gold let go of Kisa's hand and opened his arms. "Well Crys?"

Feeling Kisa stare at me, I walked forward reluctantly. Slowly (almost painfully), I wrapped my arms around Gold. Just as slowly, I felt him put his arms around me. I had planned to let go as soon as I had given Gold a quick hug; but as I stood there, I didn't pull back, face pressed close to his chest, just looking over his shoulder (I hadn't realized he was that tall), and breathing in his rather comforting scent. Gold also didn't bother to pull back.

"Crystal! Gold!"

Immediately, I jerked away from Gold at Kisa's yell. She was still next to us, head cocked curiously. "That was a loooooong hug…You guys must like each other lots and lots!" she squealed happily.

"Um…Why don't you go play with your friends right now Kisa? Gold and I have to talk about some things right now," I said quickly.

Kisa nodded. "Okay!" She skipped back to her friends as I sighed in relief.

"What's up with you Super Serious Gal?"

I turned back to Gold, eye twitching slightly. "What's up with me? What's up with ME?" I threw my hands up in the air in disgust. "Yesterday you tried to force yourself onto me and then today you come in acting all innocent! Don't you be asking what's up with me!"

Gold held up his hands. "Whoa there Ms. Serious…First of all, I didn't "force" myself onto you; you just didn't do anything to tell me that you didn't want me to kiss you."

I could practically feel myself shaking in anger. "Are you kidding? I was trying to, but you didn't stop!"

Gold raised an eyebrow with his usual cocky smirk on his face. "Wow, aren't you pissy today? What, are you on your period?"

"Ugh! You're so gross and immature!" I half-shouted, not wanting to attract the kids' attention. I turned to stomp away from Gold, considering asking Mr. Earl if I could have Gold banned from the premises.

"Wait!" Gold grabbed my wrist and I turned back, glaring straight at him.

"What?"

He let go of my wrist, running his fingers through his bangs. "Look. I came here to apologize about yesterday," he said, looking uncharacteristically nervous.

I stared at him, trying to decide whether or not to believe him. "Fine…I forgive you…" I sighed. "But why did you start splashing water on me anyways?"

Once again, Gold's grin returned. "Like I said, you're too serious, so I wanted you to have some fun!"

"Fun? That's your idea of fun?" I asked, wrinkling my nose at the very thought of Gold's "fun."

He nodded. "Yeah! Things like water fights or Pokemon battles or laser tag!" He looked at me questioningly. "What do you like to do for fun?"

I thought about it for a minute. "Well, I like to read or catch Pokemon or volunteer…"

Now Gold looked baffled. "What about battling?"

I shook my head. "Eh…I'm not very good at battles."

"So you're not going to compete in the tournament?" he asked. I shook my head. Gold looked at me doubtfully then brightened. "What about contests?" I hesitated, before shaking my head again. Gold, however, noticed the slight pause. "You want to compete in the contests?"

"I dunno," I sighed. "I've never really competed in one before."

"Why don't you try?"

"My schedule's pretty packed. I have homework, volunteering here, helping the Professor out, and of course, tutoring," I added, glancing at Gold meaningfully.

Gold laughed, before looking back at me. "Well, I know that you've got free time. Tutoring doesn't take up that much time, you finish work with Professor Oak quickly, you only volunteer here during your free time (which is most of the time), and you're done with pretty much all of your homework until January," he finished triumphantly.

I raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "And how do you know all of this?"

Gold chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Uh…I didn't read your diary and go through your bag during tutoring?" he offered sheepishly.

"Don't you ever do that again!" I said angrily. "Though I probably should have expected it," I muttered to myself, making a mental note to buy locks for both my diary and bag.

"So are you going to compete in the contest tournament?" Gold asked, jerking me out of my thoughts.

"I'll…have to think about it," I finally said.

Gold shrugged. "Alright then. But if you do join, I'll be rooting for you!" With that, he tapped me gently under the chin, grinned, and walked out of the daycare center.

I watched him leave, smiling and waving to Kisa as he walked out. Slowly, the blush in my cheeks faded away and I picked up the broom where it had been lying on the floor, resuming my sweeping.

**Blue's P.O.V.**

"Hey guys!"

I walked over to where Sapph, Yellow, and Crys were standing, under the large tree where we met every day after school. The all called back responses.

"Do you want to go get the forms now?" Crys asked. The rest of us nodded as we headed toward the front office. We had agreed to go get the forms after school together, because it would be too hectic during snack or lunch.

Finally, we arrived at the office. Immediately to the right of the door was a table. On it was a sign that said, "Application Forms: Battles & Contests." There were two stacks, one for the battling tournament, and one for the contests.

Crys was the first to pick one up. It was a contest application. "You're going to compete in the contest tournament?" I asked.

"Yeah," Crys answered. "I've never competed in any, so I thought it might be fun."

As we were talking, I saw Yellow picking up a contest form too. Crys noticed too. "You're joining this year Yellow?"

"Ah…yes," Yellow said nervously. She folded the paper and slid it in one of her folders neatly. "I thought it would nice to try something new."

Unsurprisingly, Sapph headed straight for the battle tournament applications. She grabbed one, stuffing it quickly into her bag (probably crumpling it by accident). Then, she stood there, looking oddly uncertain. Before I could ask her what was wrong, Sapph picked up one of the contest applications and shoved it into her bag as well.

"You're joining the contest tournament?" I gasped out in shock. Yellow and Crys also looked surprised.

"Yeah." Sapph glared at us fiercely. "What's wrong with that?"

"Er…nothing." I looked away from Sapph's menacing scowl and at the applications. My hand hovered over the two stacks. Batting? Or Contests? While I was pretty good at battling, I wasn't sure how the students here trained. And of course I'd never competed in a contest; but as Crys had said, it could be fun.

Before I could decide, the office door opened again. In walked four (rather familiar by now) figures, talking. It was Red, Green, Gold, and Ruby. Just as I saw them, they noticed us as well.

"Hey cousin, Ms. Serious, wild-girl!" Gold yelled out. "And _hello_ sexy lady," he added, grinning at me. I giggled, imagining what Silver would say if he saw what Gold was doing right now. From the corner of my eye, I thought I could see Green glaring at Gold.

"Gold! Stop trying to hit on Blue!" Crys scolded. Gold rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue at her. They started to argue as the rest of us turned away.

"Are you here to pick up the forms for the tournament?" Yellow asked.

Red nodded, basically answering for them all. "So what are you joining?" I asked Red, hoping to learn more about him.

"Eh, my usual. Green and I always join the battling tournament. Gold wanted to last year, but his grades were too bad. This year, he probably can." Red smiled. "What about you guys?"

Yellow and Crys both said, "Contests." Sapph muttered out her answer. "Batting…and contests." I saw Ruby look surprised, before he slid away from the guys and grabbed both a contest and a battling application and slip them both in his bag.

"What about you Blue?"

"Huh?"

Red repeated his question. "Which tournament are you joining?"

"Um…I'm not sure yet…" I said, glancing back at the forms on the table.

"You should try the battling tournament," Red suggested. "Not enough girls join and it gets pretty boring battling the same people every year."

"Yeah!" Gold added, finally done arguing with Crys. "Every year it always ends up with Green and Red facing off against each other in the finals. Green won last year, Red won last last year, and Green won last last last year."

"Okay, sounds interesting." I picked up one of the battling forms, but picked up a contest one as well. "I'll think about it."

Gold, Red, and Green grabbed their forms. "Do you guys want a ride?" Red offered.

"It's fine," I quickly replied.

"No, come on." Red walked out, obviously not taking no for an answer. With little option (walking away would be plain rude), we followed the boys back to their limo.

"Whoa! You guys have a limo?" Sapph yelled in shock.

Ruby shook his head. "It's one of Professor Oak's. He lets us use it to get to and from school." I giggled as I thought I heard Sapph cough out, "Spoiled..."

We all got in with Yellow being next to the window, followed by Red, then me, and finally Green. Gold sat across from Yellow, next to him was Crys, then Sapph, and then Ruby. We all sat there quietly, before Red broke it by making small talk with Yellow.

I noticed how tense Sapph and Ruby were, making sure not to even let their legs touch on the velvet cushioned seat. Gold and Crys were pretty much the same. Well, Crys was, Gold was smirking at her. I looked to my right. Green sat there, staring out the window. Looking out, I didn't see anything remarkable; so I looked back at Green.

Suddenly, his eyes shifted, looking at me. "What?" he said.

"Oh, nothing," I replied quickly, looking away.

"Hn…" Green looked away, but I noticed him glancing at me occasionally from that point all the way back to the house.

Finally we pulled up the long driveway. We jumped out, grabbing our bags and slamming the doors. Sapph lead the way to the front door.

"I'm sleepy…" she yawned, reaching for the door handle and jerking the door open. I was right next to her and as the door opened, I saw a familiar figure standing in front of it.

"Blue?"

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**A/N: **Whoops, another cliffy... Oh well, I'll leave you guys to guess who it is. (You probably will though...) And now you know who's participating in what. For Red, Green, Gold, and Yellow, it was pretty obvious what you guys wanted them to do. (Though I did get quite a few people wanting Gold to do contests...*imagines Gold in a contest and starts to die of laughter* It would have been interesting, but I don't think I could have written it well...) For Crys, it was pretty neck & neck, but in the end, contests won out. For Blue, it's still pretty much a tie so please vote again just for her...(sorry for the trouble!) Anyways, see you guys next time! Please review!


	21. A Visitor for Blue

Hi readers! First of all, thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! (250 reviews. XD) Hm...I can't really think of anything else to say so...please read on and review!

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon isn't mine.

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**Silver's P.O.V. (****WARNING**: May contain hinted Choosen & Viridianshipping depending on how you view this chapter!)

"Silver?!?"

I watched Blue hurtle forward, past the brunette who had opened the door. Immediately, she flung her arms around my neck, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Silver!" she cried out again.

"Hey Blue." I patted her awkwardly on the back. Looking over her shoulder, I saw the others who had been behind her come in. The last one through the door who shut it was the guy I had seen before over the phone.

Carefully, I pushed Blue away. She smiled at me, wiping at the corner of her eye. Wordlessly, I handed her a handkerchief. She took it and dabbed at her eyes.

"I'm glad to see you Silver," Blue finally said.

"I'm glad to see you too," I replied truthfully. For the past two weeks that Blue had been gone, I had become even more reclusive than usual.

"Eh-hem!" Blue and I turned to see who had coughed. A guy my age wearing a yellow and black cap backwards smirked at us. "So who's your little pal, Blue?" I bristled angrily at how informally he had addressed her. Blue, sensing this, placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Guys, this is Silver. Silver, these are my housemates."

They eyed me uncertainly as I stared back, just as uncertain. Finally, a girl, also my age, with pigtails stepped forward, hand outstretched. "Hi, Silver, I'm Crystal."

I nodded, shaking her hand. The boy who had first spoken to Blue, butted in as soon as our hands touched. "And I'm Gold!" He pushed Crystal's hand away and forced his own hand into mine. He then gave me a glare. I blinked in surprise, but shook his hand.

Done, Gold stepped back, standing closer to Crystal than he had before. I looked at both of them, wondering. Was there something going on between them?

Before I could think about them any further, another figure stepped forward. It was a blonde girl, shorter than me, with her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. "Um…I'm Yellow. It's nice to meet you!" she said, offering her hand shyly to me.

I smiled trying to ease Yellow's nervousness. I knew that my appearance (after all, not many people had silver eyes) tended to frighten some people. Yellow relaxed slightly, giving me a small smile of her own. We continued to shake hands for a little longer than was probably necessary.

"I'm Red. Any friend of Blue's is a friend of mine," put in a boy behind Yellow. She let go of my hand, face pink. I shook Red's hand, slightly uncomfortable at the way he was eyeing me. When he stepped back, he stood next to Yellow. Again I wondered about their relationship.

Next, the girl who had come in before Blue approached me. "I'm Sapphire. You can call me Sapph I guess." She shrugged, offering her hand. I shook it, surprised at how hard and calloused it was. Sapph backed away as the boy beside her came up.

"I'm Ruby. Nice gloves," he commented, looking at the gloves that were hanging out of my pocket.

"…Thanks." I looked down at them as I shook Ruby's hand, finding it slightly odd that a guy was interested in clothes.

As Ruby stepped back, I realized the only person left was the guy I had seen when talking to Blue on the phone. He waited for a minute, before coming forward. "Green." He offered his hand, bored expression intact.

I took it, gripping it as hard as I could. For some reason this guy annoyed me. Green's eyes widened slightly as he tightened his grip. I did as well. I could feel some tension begin to build as I stared him down, trying to break his hand.

"Ok guys!" Blue interrupted, clapping her hands loudly. We let go, still glaring at one another. Blue came over, blocking my view of Green and gave me another hug. "So how come you're here Silver?"

I smiled. Typical Blue to wait so long before asking why I came. "I'm here to visit you of course."

"Visit?" Blue repeated. She pouted. "And I thought you were here to attend K.E.P.A."

"Well, looks like you guys have some stuff to catch up on. See ya later!" Gold interrupted again, dashing off. I glared at his retreating back and lack of manners. The others excused themselves, Yellow offering me another smile and Green a cold glare as they left.

"Well Silver, want to see my room?" Blue said, huge grin on her face. I nodded. "Come on!" She grabbed my hand, pulling me up the stairs. I grinned, happy to see Blue again.

**-in Blue's room-**

"Isn't it great?"

Blue spun around in a wide circle, before stopping and looking at me in anticipation. I smiled. "Yeah Blue, it is."

She cocked her head. Her smile fell away; a small frown replacing it. "Look Silver…I'm sorry…"

"What are you sorry for?"

"I dunno…" Blue shrugged. "For leaving you at Sevii while I came to this fancy school…" She looked even more downcast. I placed my hand on her shoulder and Blue looked up in surprise.

"Blue, I told you before. You've always placed me before yourself. I want you to be happy and…I can tell that you're pretty happy here."

Blue looked up, a slightly disbelieving look on her face. I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her response. "Fine, fine," she sighed. She sat down on her bed and patted the spot next to her. Quietly, I sat down.

"So what are things like here?" I asked.

"Well…"

**Green's P.O.V.**

"So, have you made any friends here?"

Once again, I found myself standing in front of Blue's room door. I was curious to find out who this Silver guy was to Blue. He seemed pretty important, but who exactly was he?

Blue giggled. "Of course! All the girls downstairs are my friends here."

"What about the guys?"

Blue paused, as though thinking about her response, before replying carefully. "Well, I don't know them too well, but I know Ruby makes cool clothes, Gold's pretty funny, and Red's really nice…" I detected a wistful tone as she trailed off.

"You like him don't you?" Silver asked sharply. Obviously, he didn't miss a thing either.

I could practically see Blue blush. "Silver!" This time, Silver didn't say anything, but I had a feeling that he was giving Blue a skeptical look. "Ok fine…" she sighed. "Maybe a little crush. But just a little one!"

"Aren't Red and Yellow dating?"

I blinked, slightly surprised. This kid was quick at picking up small details. For the past few days, I had noticed Red and Yellow getting closer. I listened for Blue's answer. "No!" Blue sounded a little angry at Silver's question. "What made you think that?"

There was a slight shifting noise. (I got the impression that Silver had just shrugged.) "No reason."

"Good," Blue said firmly. Then, "Oh, I know! You like Yellow, don't you Silver? You're jealous that Red and Yellow might be going out, aren't you?"

"What? N-no!" Silver stuttered out nervously. I shook my head. Even though I didn't like this guy, I felt sorry for him. Blue was always asking awkward questions. That pesky girl… "So are the others dating?" he asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

"Um…" (I heard Silver sigh in relief that Blue had moved on.) "I don't think so," Blue said. "But I think that there might be something going on between Gold and Crys, and Ruby and Sapph seem to have this whole "hate" thing going on."

I stepped back, about to walk away, not interested in any gossip about relationships. Suddenly, Silver spoke. "Hey Blue. I noticed you didn't say anything about Green."

Now, I froze. There was a heavy silence as Silver and I waited for Blue to say something. "Green?" Blue repeated as though it was the first time she'd ever heard this word. "Green is…different," she finally said carefully.

"What do you mean, different?"

There was a sigh, followed by a muffled "thump-!" (Probably Blue falling back onto the bed.) "I dunno…he's really weird." I frowned. Weird? Blue continued. "Not in a bad way! It's just… he's really cold and distant sometimes…kind of like you, Silver."

"Like me?" Silver sounded offended. I was equally offended.

"Yeah." My frown deepened. So Blue thought I was some kind of cold-hearted weirdo. Again, I turned around to walk back to my room, and was stopped once more by Blue's voice. "But even though Green's weird and all, I think that he's just hiding his real self. Occasionally he shows it. Then he's okay…" From her tone, I guessed that Blue was smiling.

"Oh," was all Silver said. "Oh…"

"Anyways, how are mom and dad?" Blue asked, her voice brightening.

Slowly, I walked away, a small smile growing on my face. So that was what Blue thought of me…

**Blue's P.O.V.**

"Hey guys!"

I smiled at everyone, in an extremely good mood. Silver nodded to everyone before sitting down next to me. He had stayed over in my room, sharing a bed, which I didn't mind. (After all, we had to back then…) Silver had also told me he'd be staying to watch the opening day of the tournaments and rooting me on. (I still didn't know which one I wanted to compete in though.)

The others were already seated and eating, as usual. Ruby was carefully slicing his ham into equally identical squares, Gold was shoveling down a bowl of cereal, Green was drinking a cup of coffee, Sapph was gobbling an omelet, Crys was reading the newspaper, and Yellow was nibbling on a piece of toast.

"Where's Red?" I asked, forking a waffle onto my plate and grabbing the bottle of syrup. Silver helped himself to an apple.

Surprisingly, it was Green who answered. "In his room."

"Why?" I began to pour syrup into each tiny square on my waffle carefully.

Suddenly, Ruby frowned, setting down his fork and knife, and stopped his perfectionist ham-cutting project. "It's today isn't it?" Green nodded and I noticed that Gold had also looked up, expression serious.

"What's today?" Crys looked puzzled as did the other girls.

There was a long pause. Finally Gold spoke. "The anniversary of Red's parents' deaths."

* * *

**A/N:** ...That ended on a gloomy note. Well, I think everyone guessed Silver, and as you saw, you guys were right! Unfortunately, Silver won't be attending K.E.P.A., but I threw him in for a visit for some good ole' Silver/Blue/Green time. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this little bit of Silver (there will be more), and please review!


	22. Visiting Graves and Painful Memories

Ok...well first of all, hi everyone! Um...sorry for not updating so long... If you haven't guessed already, school started (which is why it's taking so long...) I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter, especially those who review every chapter. You guys are awesome! As I left off from last chapter, Red's parents are DEAD!!!! *gasp* (I saw some people were happy about Ash being dead, by the way...) So, my dear readers, please read on for a rather long (and sad) chapter. Please review!

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon isn't mine! If it was, Kris would have been the girl in HeartGold/SoulSilver! (No offense Kotone fans.)

* * *

**Yellow's P.O.V.**

I frowned, looking down at my feet, remembering what Gold and the others had said about Red.

**-flashback-**

"What?" Blue practically yelled, standing up.

Gold looked away. "Like I said, today's the anniversary of Red's parent's deaths." He stared hard at the pitcher of orange juice in front of him as an uncomfortable silence fell over us.

Blue continued to stand, speechless. She sat down, looking dazed. "…Red's parents are dead?"

No one spoke, but Ruby nodded. I dropped the rest of my toast onto the plate and pushed back my chair. It made a loud scrapping noise and everyone's heads turned to look at me. I blushed, murmuring a quiet, "Excuse me."

I walked out of the room quickly. Behind me I heard Silver ask, "Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine," Crys answered. "Yellow's just a little more emotional about things than other people."

**-end flashback-**

Now I found myself standing in front of Red's room. I raised my hand, uncertain whether I should knock or not. Finally, I rapped the door lightly twice.

No answer. I turned away with a sigh. Suddenly, the door opened, revealing Red.

"Yellow?"

"H-hi Red," I started nervously. I shuffled my feet, trying to think of something to say. I hadn't come prepared with anything; I had just come impulsively.

"Do you want to come in?" he offered, opening the door wider.

I walked in and Red followed, shutting the door behind him. Looking around, I noticed that the bed was unmade and that there were some clothes scattered about. I also realized that this was the first time I'd ever been in a guy's room.

Uncle had always warned me not to go into a boy's room without a chaperone, but I felt safe, knowing that Red wouldn't hurt or do anything…inappropriate to me.

"So why are you here?" Red asked, looking confused.

"Um…I heard that today…" I started, deciding to just start off upfront.

"Oh." Red was quiet. He walked over to his bed and sat down, gesturing for me to do the same. Nervously, I sat. Red was bent forward, elbows on his knees, covering his face with his hands. I kept quiet, watching him.

Finally, he looked up and turned toward me. "Hey Yellow. Do you mind going somewhere with me?"

I blinked, surprised by the sudden question. "Ah, no, not at all…But where are we going?"

Red stood up, walking to the door and opening it. "To my parents' graves."

**-a while later-**

I kept quiet as I followed Red downstairs. He went to one of the kitchens and picked up a paper bag that was sitting on the counter. I tried to peer into the bag to see its contents, but Red was walking too fast.

"Um…so how are we getting there?" I asked, quickening my pace to keep up with Red.

Red looked down at me and gave me a tight smile. He opened the back door for me, shutting it behind us. We walked to the middle of the battlefield, passing Green who (I assumed) just finished his training. He looked at Red, before his eyes flicked toward my direction. For a second his face registered surprise, before being replaced by his usual emotionless face. I watched him go into the house and almost bumped into Red.

Red turned and pulled a pokeball from his belt. "To answer your question, we're going to fly there on my Aerodactyl, Aero." He threw the pokeball as the large, grey fossil pokemon came out. Aero shrieked loudly, stretching his wings. Red gestured at Aero. "Climb on."

"Ah-! I can have my Butterfree fly me; let me just go get him." I turned to go back to the house.

Before I could walk one step, Red caught hold of my wrist. "It's fine. Aero can carry both of us."

"But what if I'm too heavy for him…?"

For some reason Red began to chuckle. Suddenly, he swept me up in his arms, walking over to Aero. "W-What are you doing Red?" I asked. One of Red's arms was supporting my back while the other was under my knees.

Red deposited me onto Aero's back, still laughing lightly. "Believe me Yellow. You're _very_ light." He jumped onto Aero's back as Aero looked back. Red nodded and with a loud cry, Aero took off.

**-In a cemetery somewhere in Kanto-**

I stared silently at the rows of gravestones as Red returned Aero to his pokeball. Picking up the bag that he had placed on the ground, Red began walking off. He glanced over his shoulder. "C'mon Yellow."

"Coming." I scurried after Red, making sure not to step on any graves.

Finally Red stopped in front of a grave. Engraved on the tombstone were the words, "Ash & ----(the words were too smudged and faded to read) Ketchum. Dedicated trainers, loving parents, and wonderful people." Wordlessly, Red squatted down and began to take out items from the bag.

"I can help," I offered. Red shook his head and I stepped back.

Looking around, I realized it was extremely quiet and oddly peaceful. Glancing back at Red I saw that he had already set up most of the things. The incense was already lit, a bouquet of flowers placed next to them, a container of food was open in front of the gravestone, the gravestone had been wiped clean, and Red was pouring two cups of juice for his parents.

I stood uncertainly behind Red. He bowed down three times, before placing the incense into the ground. Then he offered some sticks of incense to me. I took them, offering them to Red's parents with my respects and also placed them into the ground.

Red began to clean up as soon as I had finished. This time when I went to help, Red didn't refuse. Together, we were able to clean up in much less time. Red pulled out another small package from the bag. "I brought lunch. Let's go eat over there."

After we had perched ourselves on the low wall surrounding the graveyard, Red handed me a melon bread. "Sorry," he said, taking out another one for himself. "I can't cook."

I shook my head and we proceeded to eat in silence. "Um Red?" I asked, swallowing a bite of bread. "Why was there only one grave?"

Slowly Red lowered his bread, staring down at it blankly.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" I blushed, scolding myself mentally. "I didn't mean to pry." I understood what it was like to have a painful past.

"No….it's fine." Red took another bite, chewing thoughtfully. "You wanted to know why both my parents share one grave, right?" Hesitantly, I nodded.

"The truth is there aren't any bodies in that grave." Seeing me gaping speechlessly, Red corrected himself. "I mean, there aren't any _whole_ bodies in that grave." A hard look came into his eyes as he continued. "The only things in that grave are remnants of my parents' bodies."

I stared in shock at Red with this sudden bit of information, but he didn't notice. Red was staring intently at the ground in front of him. With a heavy sigh, Red began to tell me his own sad history.

**-flashback-**

"I've almost caught you!"

"No way daddy!"

A small boy (around the age of five or six) ran away from a tall man wearing a bright red cap. The boy laughed happily as his father chased after him. Suddenly, a woman wearing a pink apron walked into the room, smiling in amusement as she watched the wild game of tag.

"Now, now you two. It's dinner time! You can play later," she said.

The boy stopped, before running to his mother. "Mommy!" He flung his arms around her legs as Ash (his father) came up behind the two.

"Whew-! You're getting faster and faster everyday Red," he commented, pretending to wipe his forehead.

"No, you're just getting older daddy!" Red laughed as his father pulled a face at the comment about his age.

"We'll talk about daddy's age later, but right now dinner's getting cold."

Ash turned to his wife, mouth open in protest; but before he could say anything there was sudden large, "BOOM-!"

"Pika-?" The small yellow mouse pokemon curled up on the sofa looked up, ears twitching madly. Ash frowned and walked toward the hallway where the front door was located. He glanced back at his wife and Red. "You two stay here. I'm going to go check it out. C'mon Pikachu." The pokemon ran over, hopping onto Ash's shoulder, cheeks already crackling with electricity.

"Mommy I'm scared…" Red muttered, clutching onto his mother's apron.

She patted his head. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Daddy will be back in a minute or two, you'll see."

The boy sniffled. "But what if it's a monster?"

His mother giggled, patting his head again reassuringly. "I'm sure it's just an injured pokemon or something like that, looking at our doorstep for help."

The two stood silently for a while; the boy rubbing his eyes, certain that everything would be alright, and the woman frowning anxiously, wondering why her husband was taking so long. Suddenly another, "BOOM-!" sounded out, this time throughout the whole house. Within minutes, smoke began to fill the room.

"What in Mew's name-?" The woman stepped back, pulling her son closer and hovering over him protectively.

Then, Ash stumbled out of the smoke, coughing madly. He opened his mouth, speaking between coughs. "Run…! Run…!" He began to hack loudly once more. His Pikachu slumped over his shoulder, also coughing.

"Daddy?" "Ash!"

Both Red and his mother ran forward toward Ash. Holding out his hand, he continued to cough. "…Take Red and run! They're trying to get him…"

"What?!?" Red's mother stopped, pulling Red to her. "What do you mean they want Red?"

"Run now…!" Another explosion sounded from the hall. Ash turned around, staring grimly into the smoke. "Take Red and run. I'll hold them off."

"No!" Red ran forward to his father, pulling on his pant leg. "I don't wanna leave you daddy!"

Ash bent down, patting his son's head and smiling grimly. "Don't worry, daddy will be fine. I just want you and mommy to be safe, so you two will have to go ahead first. I'll join you later." With that, he kissed Red on the forehead before pushing him back to his mother.

"Ash…"

Ash looked at his wife and smiled sadly. "Everything will be alright." Suddenly a loud blast accompanied by more billowing smoke came from the hall, this time closer. Ash looked back to his wife and son. "Run!"

With one last frightened look back at Ash, his wife scooped up Red up into her arms and rushed into the kitchen. Pulling open one of the cupboards, she quickly stuffed something into her apron pocket. Then, still holding onto Red, she ran out the back door.

For a few minutes, she ran along in silence, the only sounds were the sounds of her breathing. Red stared over his mother's shoulder as she ran into the woods behind his house. Nothing looked different about it…except, for that large cloud of smoke.

"Mommy?" Red cried out, frightened. "Is our house on fire?"

"Wha-?" Red's mother whirled around, staring in shock and horror at the beloved house she and Ash had bought to start their family burned. Slowly, she fell down onto her knees, putting Red on the ground in the process, and sobbed loudly.

"Mommy? Mommy?" The boy tugged at his mother's sleeve. "Is daddy going to be okay?"

His mother didn't answer, crying too heavily to reply. Finally she sat up, wiping tears from her eyes. "Daddy…daddy will be alright." She paused, as though she were thinking. "Red," she said slowly. "I need you to listen to me right now."

Red simply stared at her, startled by the look in his mother's eyes. He gulped. "Yes mommy?"

"I need to go back and get daddy, so I want you to stay here. I won't be gone for too long, but I want you to keep hidden." She hesitated, choosing her next words carefully. "…Don't come out into the open and stay quiet. Whatever you do, _don't_ come out into the open."

"Why?"

His mother closed her eyes, steadying herself. "There are some…bad…people who have come to our house," she answered slowly. "I don't want you to get hurt so Red, stay here."

Suddenly, the boy hugged his mother tightly. "I don't want you to go! What if you don't come back?"

Once again, tears filled her eyes. "Don't worry. I'll be back soon…" Glancing over her shoulder she reached into her pocket, and pulled out a pokeball. Red stared at in amazement.

"Red…this is your new Pikachu," his mother said. "Your father and I weren't planning on giving it to you until your sixth birthday, but I'm giving it you now."

"…Why?"

"Because…" A lump filled her throat at the thought of her answer. "You have your Poliwag with you, right?" she asked, dodging the question.

Red nodded firmly, pulling out Poli's pokeball. "Yup mommy!"

A small smile found its way onto her face at her son's enthusiasm. "Good. Keep Poli and your new Pikachu with you at all times. If you have to, _use_ them," she emphasized.

Suddenly, a crackling noise filled the air. Turning around, Red and his mother watched in horror as part of the roof burst into flames. She turned back to her son. "Red, look at me."

Slowly, Red tore his eyes away from the terrible sight and looked into his mother's eyes. She stared at her son's identically red eyes, feeling more tears begin to well up.

"Remember what I said. Keep hidden, keep quiet, and keep your pokemon with you at all times." She blinked as tears began sliding down her cheeks. She kissed her son, wrapping her arms tightly around him for a moment before releasing him.

"I love you mommy!" Red yelled out as she stood up.

"I love you too Red," she murmured sadly. With one last hug, she ran back to the house, already clutching her own Pikachu's pokeball.

Thoughts of her son and husband flashed through her mind as she ran. The last one was the question Red had asked…

"_Red…this is your new Pikachu," his mother said. "Your father and I weren't planning on giving it to you until your sixth birthday, but I'm giving it you now."_

"…_Why?"_

"_Because…"_

"Because we probably won't be there for your sixth birthday…"she thought sadly, staring in despair at the burning home.

**-With Red (still flashback)-**

"Wow, my own Pikachu!"

Red tossed the pokeball up and down, catching it clumsily, and peering into it. The poor Pikachu inside the ball glared back at him, probably because it had been tossed around.

Red smiled. "Well, I should give you a name, so come on out…Pika!"

In a minute, the mouse pokemon was standing before the boy, still glaring. Red (not noticing the Pikachu's expression) reached out a hand. "Nice to meet you Pika."

"Pi…ka…chu-!" Though, the Pikachu wasn't able to store much electricity (due to the fact that it was so young), it still managed to give Red a light shock.

"Ow! Mommy, it hurt me!" Red turned around to complain to his mother, before remembering that she had gone back to the house. He sniffled, rubbing the hand that had been shocked. "I miss mommy…"

The Pikachu cocked his head as he watched the boy slump down against a tree, crying. "Pikachu?" He came closer and nudged the boy.

"Oh, I guess you're not so bad after all…" Hesitantly, Red reached out and stroked the Pikachu. He brightened. "You're pretty nice!"

"Chu-!"

There was a low rumbling noise and both Red and Pika stopped. Red laughed nervously. "I'm hungry. We haven't eaten dinner yet…"

"Pikachu?" Pika ran off, disappearing into the dark.

"Wait!" Red stood up, uncertain whether or not to follow the small rodent. Before he could decide, Pika reappeared, holding an apple in its paws.

"For me?" The Pikachu nodded. "Thanks!"

The two sat in companionable silence as Red ate. Suddenly, a loud explosion came from behind them. Red whirled around. "Wha-?" Both he and Pika stared in shock and horror as they watched the roof of the home cave in. Bright flashes of orange flames lit the sky as yells and screams echoed through the forest.

"Mommy…? Daddy…?" Red whimpered, dropping the half-eaten apple. He scrambled forward, about to run toward the house, when Pika grabbed his leg.

"Pikachu!"

"Let me go…! Mommy and daddy are still in there!" Red half-yelled, flailing wildly to get the Pokemon off his leg. Pikachu held on tightly, remembering Red's mother's instructions even though he had been in his ball.

"Sir-!"

Red froze as did Pika at the unexpected voice. It came from behind the trees, near the house.

"Sir, there were still some others trapped in the house! Should we try to subdue the flames?" The voice was male and he sounded slightly uncertain and afraid.

"No."

Red shivered. The new speaker had a hoarse and low voice. It sounded like the voices of the evil villains he often watched on the Saturday morning cartoons, only scarier. Cautiously, he crept forward, edging around the tree to try and see the people talking.

Facing the tree Red was hiding behind was a young man, about 20 years old, who was shaking slightly. He was looking down at the ground, away from the figure towering in front of him. Red couldn't see what the taller figure looked like, since that person's back was facing him.

"But sir…they may die!" the young man said, voice filled with alarm.

"That matters little to me," the low voice growled. "They should have known that if they did not get out quickly enough, they would burn."

The young man looked down. "…Sir."

The taller figure, turned, his long cloak swishing around him. "It matters not. They are easy to replace anyways!" Red squinted, trying to get a good look at the person's face. "But we were not able to complete the task we came here for…"

"Sir!" A new figure came running toward the two. From her voice and long blond hair, Red could tell she was a girl, about the same age as the young man, perhaps older. Red bent even further to make out what they were saying.

For a moment, the girl didn't say anything, breathing too heavily. The man grew impatient. "Speak!"

"I apologize sir…" the girl started. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to find the child." Red breathed in; they _were_ looking for him! But they were speaking again, so he put it aside in his mind.

"Not a sign of it at all?"

"No sir."

The man sighed. "Well, we weren't certain whether that child was male or female anyways." He growled. "Typical that Ash Ketchum would keep his child this well hidden! After all…fame only brings suffering in the end…"

The other two didn't say anything, watching the man silently.

"So you don't know if the child is dead or alive?" the man said, turning to face them.

"Well…we couldn't find his or her body…"

Suddenly, the man lashed out, striking the girl to the ground. She cried out sharply as she fell. The boy started forward, stopping as the man waved an impatient hand at him.

"Give me a straight answer!" he barked at the fallen girl.

"N-no sir! We aren't certain if the child is still alive. There was too much smoke in the house to tell if he or she was still in the house," she whimpered.

"Hm…" The man turned away as the boy hurried to help his fallen companion stand. "Then we shall assume the child has died already. If it was a girl, then it is too bad. And if it had been a boy…" He paused. "Then the fire has saved us the trouble of killing him."

Red shivered. His mother and father had been right. This man did want to hurt him…no, _kill_ him.

The man continued. "But we shall have to find another girl…the newest child does not have a partner yet."

"Sir…" the boy said hesitantly. "What about Oak's grandson? He is the right age."

"Fool!" The boy and the girl cowered back as the man yelled. "Have I not told you a thousand times before? The pairs must be girl and boy, three years apart! Always!"

There was a long pause. "What about another child?"

"What?" The man looked at the girl.

She swallowed nervously. "I know there is another family here in Pallet with a child the same age as Ash Ketchum's child. However she is not famous or related to anyone who is famous…"

The man seemed to consider it. Finally, he nodded. "It will have to do. We are running out of time." He looked up in the sky. "I must return to the base. Find the girl and use the bird to capture her. And do it quickly!"

With that, another large figure came down and picked up the man. It appeared to be a large white and blue bird-dragon pokemon. As it grabbed the man, Red finally saw his face. But it wasn't a face…instead, it simply had a jagged mouth and slanted eyes; it was a mask.

**-One week later (STILL in flashback!)-**

"What in the world?!?"

An old man wearing a lab coat with a red shirt underneath and tan pants stopped in surprise at the small boy lying in front of him. The Pikachu next to him stood defensively, cheeks crackling with sparks of electricity.

"Easy…easy…" the man said. He held up his hands in an open manner as the Pikachu slowly relaxed. When the Pikachu had stopped, the man bent down and examined the boy.

"Hm…not good. He's fainted, probably due to fatigue and dehydration." The man scooped up the boy. He looked back at the Pikachu, gesturing for it to follow.

**-at the Oak's lab-**

"Grandfather!"

"It's alright Daisy. I found the poor boy collapsed nearby Ash Ketchum's house…"

"Then you don't mean…this boy is…" The girl stopped, looking uncertain.

Professor Oak nodded. "Yes. This boy must be Red Ketchum. His father always liked to keep him away from others. Nothing good ever comes out of too much media. Half of Kanto doesn't even know that the renowned Ash Ketchum had a child, let alone whether it was a boy or girl."

The girl still had a worried expression. "But isn't he an…"

Again, Professor Oak nodded. "Yes, Red is now indeed an orphan." He looked sadly at the boy.

"What will you do grandfather?"

"Do?" The professor thought for a while. Finally, he stood up. "I must go send an e-mail Daisy. Please watch over Red for me." With that, he walked out of the room, leaving his granddaughter and the boy on the lab table alone.

"Poor boy…" Daisy sighed, pulling up a chair and looking at the young boy.

**-in Johto (Cianwood)-**

"I miss mommy…"

Red was sitting on one of the beds in the room assigned to him by Chuck. After waking up in Professor Oak's lab, the professor had explained to him that he had found Red collapsed in the forest. A few days later when Red was fully recovered, the professor had taken him to this new place. Apparently, it was a training ground/orphanage run by Chuck, one of the Johto gym leaders. Not all the boys there were orphans, some simply were sent here to train, though a majority didn't have any relatives.

"Oh…a new kid."

Red looked up to see another boy his age with brown hair and green eyes walk into the room. He had a face void of expression as he walked over to the other bed in the room and sat down.

Red sniffled, blinking back the fresh tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. "I'm Red…"

"Green." The boy answered shortly. He stared at Red. "You're crying," he observed. His voice trailed off as Red now broke down sobbing.

"I miss my mommy and daddy!" Red didn't bother to hide anything now, though he knew Green would probably laugh at him later.

Green kept quiet until Red's sobs finally died away back to sniffles. Red rubbed his eyes and peered at Green who was staring silently back.

"Have you…have you ever lost anyone important?" Red asked, guessing that Green probably hadn't.

A flicker of emotion ran over Green's face. His eyes flashed with pain as he looked down. "Yeah…"

"Oh."

The two boys didn't say anything else, but from that day on, they became friends, bonded over their losses …

**-end flashback-**

"And that's what happened," Red finished.

"…I see." I was speechless. To think that Red had lost his parents to such a cruel man… "I'm sorry for your losses."

Red shook his head, but didn't say anything else. His eyes were sad and downcast as I watched him sadly.

Red and I were silent for a minute, before he stood up. "C'mon, let's go back to the school." We flew back on Aero, arriving at the house just as the sun was starting to set.

As soon as we got there, Red jumped off, helping me down, before returning Aero to his pokeball. Slowly, he walked back towards the house as I trailed after him.

"Um, Red?"

He turned. "Yeah?"

"Why…why did you decide to tell me about your parents?" I asked. I was still confused about why Red chose to tell me and not anyone else. (Apparently, Gold and Ruby only knew that Red's parents had passed away and Green only knew certain parts of the story.)

Red paused, thinking. Finally, he gave me a small smile. "I dunno. I always feel like you understand me the most out of anyone I know. It felt…_right_ to tell you."

I smiled back at him. "Thank you for telling me Red."

He chuckled softly as we began to walk again. "No. Thank _you_ Yellow."

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**A/N: **Well...not a lot of shippy-ness (there was a bit if you looked in the right places), but I'll try and put more in the next chapter. Ah, poor Red. I tried my best not to "emo-ize" him (as Joey Hirasame put it), but sorry if it seems like Red was a bit of a wimp in the flashbacks. But c'mon, the kid was 5! (Oh, and sorry the flashback was so long! I just kept writing and writing...) Let's see...oh, and starrain15 brought up the fact that contests seemed too much like battles. I agree, so if you have any ideas on how to make the contests more appealing (pun NOT intended) and less battle-y, please PM me ideas! Thanks! And please review!

P.S. I will be updating "It Takes Two to Raise a Family" next I think...fingers crossed that I'll be able to finish by this weekend!


	23. Odd Trios and Familiar Tastes

Hi everyone. First of all, apologies to all my readers for the ridiculously long period between updates...(school is too hard and there is too much work). On the other hand, this story now has 300+ reviews(300!!!); thanks to everyone who reviewed (especially for the last chapter); please continue reviewing! Your reviews for last chapter were rather interesting (a lot of crying?). As to who Red's mother is...*shifty eyes*; I have nothing to say... Anyways, this chapter is rather filler-ish, but next chapter will be more relevant. (Plus I have it planned out, so hopefully it will be updated sooner). Please review!

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon and all its awesome characters aren't mine.

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**Silver's P.O.V.**

The rest of breakfast was silent and awkward. Obviously, I didn't know Red well so I didn't know how to respond while the other guys were quiet and the girls looked uncertain. Blue seemed shocked as she poked listlessly at her now soggy waffle on the plate.

"Well…" Gold began, standing up. "I'm going to…go." He stood up and nodded with a hesitant expression before leaving.

"Yeah…I'm going to go to my room. See you guys later." Ruby also walked out. The others followed suit and left the dining room, the other girls looked worriedly at Blue and even Green, who walked out last, glanced back at her with a bothered look.

I walked over to Blue who hadn't seemed to notice everyone leaving. "…You okay?" I asked slowly.

"Huh?" Now Blue looked up, offering me an apprehensive smile. "Yeah…I'm fine." Seeing the disbelieving look I gave her she dropped her façade. "Ok, maybe I'm not. I think I just need some time to think…"

She stood up, faced scrunched up with concentration as she walked toward the door leading to one of the various living rooms. Then, she turned.

"Oh wait! I told you that I would show you around the campus today…"

"It's fine." I shook my head. "After all, that seemed to be a pretty big shock to you about Red…"

Suddenly, Crystal walked in. "Um…was I interrupting anything?"

Again, I shook my head. "No, Blue was just about to leave." Crystal nodded, still looking confused. Blue brightened as she saw Crystal.

"Hey Crys! Do you mind just showing Silver around today? Please?"

Now Crystal looked surprised, but nodded. "Sure. I don't have anything to do today." She smiled at me kindly as I offered a smile back.

"I'm going too!"

All three of us turned in shock as Gold burst into the room. He glared at me before repeating, "If Super Serious Gal is going then I am too!"

Crystal sighed loudly, but I detected a hint of relief from it. "Fine. You can come too."

"Yeah! It's a date!" Gold whooped loudly.

Crystal bristled angrily, turning pink. "It is not a date!" she yelped. Gold ignored her, already half way out the door. We followed, pausing to wave back at Blue.

As we walked out the front door I turned to Crystal. "…Super Serious Gal?"

She sighed. "Don't ask. Just don't ask."

**-Outside (around the campus)-**

"…and this is the library…"

I nodded slowly, only half-listening to Crystal as she pointed out the various buildings and classrooms. The rest of or my attention was focused on the pair of eyes staring, rather, _glaring_ at me.

My eyes swiveled to my left, past Crystal, to look at Gold. He seemed to be in a rather angry mood with an annoyed frown on his face. I raised an eyebrow; hadn't Blue said that Gold was a constant joker who was always laughing and grinning?

Now my eyes shifted back to the girl in between us. I suspected Gold's temper at the moment had something to do with her…

"Hey Crystal…" I reached out and touched her arm briefly for a second. "What's that building?"

"Oh, that's where the pool is…" Crystal continued to talk as I looked away to the source of the real reason why I had posed the question.

Just as I suspected; Gold was clenching and unclenching his fists angrily at the brief contact I had had with Crystal. He opened his mouth, about to say (or yell) something at me…

"Ow-!"

I blinked in surprise as Crystal fell backwards. Immediately, my arm shot out and grabbed her elbow, stopping her fall. At the same time, Gold's hand grabbed her other elbow.

"Let go," he growled at me, in a tone low enough that Crystal couldn't hear.

Keeping my expression smooth, I opened my hand and took a step back. Gold steadied Crystal, his expression oddly protective. I turned my attention to the reason of Crystal's fall.

"Hmph."

The mutter had come from a girl about my height (though slightly shorter) with straight navy blue hair, held back by a few clips. She had a look of contempt on her face as though she had smelled something bad as she stared at us. Finally, she turned on her heel and continued walking.

"Hey!" Gold yelled out. "Apologize!"

The girl glanced back coolly at us, her eyes focusing on Gold and narrowing slightly. I was slightly startled to see that her eyes were about the same silver color as my own. She turned back, hair swishing around with the sudden movement, and walked away.

"…" Even Gold seemed speechless by the odd girl.

"Oi! Come back!"

Suddenly a boy wearing a green tie and with yellow hair that curved upward on both sides rushed past us, narrowly avoiding running into Gold and Crystal. Gold pulled Crystal backwards, pressing her close to himself, managing not to get run over.

The boy ran past us in the direction of the girl, yelling random phrases. Following closely behind him was a brightly multi-colored bird (a Chatot?), repeating all the things the boy was shouting.

"Ah, excuse me. Pardon me."

Jogging even further behind the blonde teen was yet another boy. This one had dark hair covered by a red hat. And following him was a pudgy blue cat-eared pokemon (which I believed was a Munchlax). Both the boy and the Munchlax puffed after the first boy and the girl.

"…" Once again, Gold, Crystal, and I stood there, rendered wordless by the strange duo that had passed us following the odd girl.

"Ah-!" Suddenly, Crystal pulled back away from Gold with a startled cry. "Why are you still holding me idiot?"

"Sheesh, I just saved you from getting run over and you don't even thank me Super Serious Gal? I'm hurt," Gold said in a wounded tone. But he was now smirking at her and as Crystal turned away, I could detect a hint of pink on her face. I blinked; there was _definitely_ something going on between the two of them…

**Blue's P.O.V.**

I smiled, waving to Silver and Crys as they left the room, waiting until the door shut behind them before I dropped my hand and the fake smile. Slowly, I trudged into one of the many living rooms and fell face first onto a couch.

Dead? Red's parents were dead? I just couldn't get my head around it. I shuddered; could it really be that much of a coincidence?

As if to answer my own question, my eyes flicked upwards to see a small calendar on the table next to the sofa. My eyes stared blankly at the date. It was _that_ day.

I had completely forgotten about what day it was in my joy of seeing Silver again and now it was the only thing I could think of.

The day I was kidnapped.

I snatched the calendar off the table and peered at it suspiciously as though the date would magically change into something else. Of course nothing happened. I blinked twice, feeling the familiar tears start to form.

I scrunched my eyes shut tightly. I wouldn't cry…I wouldn't cry…

Suddenly like a dam breaking, the memories filled my mind, overwhelming me.

The chill of the night…the smell of the rain…the steel hard, razor-sharp claws grasping me tightly…the piercing yellow eyes glaring at me hatefully...the _evil_ mask…

**Green's P.O.V.**

"No…"

I looked up, startled. The noise had come from the direction of the couch and lying on the couch was Blue. Carefully I shut the door to the backyard and walked over to the couch.

"No…please, don't…" Blue muttered. She was tossing and turning so violently I was afraid she was going to fall off the couch.

Just then I noticed she was clutching onto something in her right hand. I tried to pull it away, but Blue had a tight grip around the object. After a few attempts at wrestling the item from Blue's grasp, I managed to ease it away from her. It turned out to be a calendar.

I raised an eyebrow. What was so unique about this calendar? Before I could ponder about the reason for Blue holding onto a calendar, I noticed something fall from Blue's face. Curious, I stepped closer.

Tears. Two tears dripped down simultaneously from Blue's tightly shut eyes as she whimpered something indiscernible and shifted slightly.

I recoiled. Tears? I wasn't good with crying people, much less crying girls. After all, I'd heard time and time again, 'Green, you're so cold' or 'Green, you have no feelings.'

I bit back a sarcastic chuckle that threatened to come out; of course I had feelings. I just happened to hide them better than most people. Even as a kid I was like that…

**-flashback-**

"Green! Greeeeeeeeeen!"

I rolled my eyes, not needing to turn around to know that _she_ was here. Just like she did every day, Blue had turned up to pester me again, no doubt.

"Hi Green!"

I knew that Blue was probably right behind me now (judging by how loud her voice was), but I still didn't bother turning around.

"Greeeeeeeen…" she said, stretching out my name like a rubber band, knowing it annoyed me. "Say hi!"

Again, I didn't bother to answer or even acknowledge Blue. In my mind, I could see Blue puffing out her cheeks indignantly.

"You're so cold Green!" Blue wailed loudly. Then her voice did a complete 180. "I know what will cheer you up! Turn around!"

Tugging at another weed (today was weeding day), I ignored Blue. Suddenly, I felt something stab me in the side.

"Green. Turn around."

I didn't respond; not wanting to give in.

Another jab. "Turn around!"

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

Yet another prod in my side. "C'mon, turn around!"

I felt my eye twitch; something that seemed to happen a lot when Blue was around.

And then another poke; straight into my rib cage. "Turn around!!!"

I gritted my teeth, clutching the weed so tightly in my fist that it snapped in half, both sides falling limply to the ground. "What?!?" I yelled, whirling around furiously.

The taste of something sickeningly sweet filled my mouth. I jumped back, about to spit whatever it was out.

"Do you like it?" Blue asked excitedly. "It's a special candy daddy bought for me!"

I rolled the spherical shaped candy around my mouth. No matter how many times I did that, the taste was still as sweet as ever. Beneath the overwhelming sweetness I detected the faint taste of strawberries.

Strawberries? That could only mean one thing… I stuck out my tongue slightly so that only the tip was poking out of my mouth. Just as I suspected…the candy was _pink_. I grimaced.

Unfortunately, Blue noticed. She frowned, looking disappointed. "You don't like it? And I really wanted to share it with you…"

"No!" I yelled before I could stop myself. "It's…great."

Immediately, Blue's face brightened. "Thank goodness! I'm glad you like it, 'cause I brought more!" She pulled out a sack from her pocket; inside the bag, I could see more candies. "Take another one!"

Slowly, I crunched up the first candy, feeling my taste buds die a little at the overwhelming sweetness, before reluctantly taking another candy and slowly unwrapping it.

Across from me, Blue was already shoving handfuls of the sweets into her mouth, her hands going at lightning speed as she ripped off the wrappers. Seeing me watching her, she smiled, her teeth tinted a bright neon pink. I couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight; that is, until I popped the next candy into my mouth.

**-end flashback-**

My grip tightened around the calendar unconsciously as I shut my eyes, trying to block out the memory. I felt myself glaring at Blue. Why? Why did she have to come here and make me remember all those stupid memories?

But gradually I could feel my expression soften. It wasn't Blue's fault; after all, the pesky girl couldn't remember anything herself from what I'd overheard. Carefully I set the calendar back on the table and turned away, walking out of the room silently.

**Blue's P.O.V.**

My eyes snapped open in shock as I glanced around wildly. What had happened? Where was I? Looking around, I realized I was still in the living room. As I sat up, I noticed the calendar was back on the table as a light yellow blanket slid off of me and onto the ground.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. When had I gotten a blanket?

Then I realized there was another strange object in the room that hadn't been there before. Sitting next to the calendar was something pink.

I reached over and picked it up, inspecting it closely. It was a piece of candy. Once again, I was baffled; who would leave random pieces of candy everywhere?

Still, it _was_ candy. And I loved candy, so I unwrapped it and popped it into my mouth, rolling it around my mouth to get the full flavor of the sweet.

Strawberries…I could taste strawberries. And salt…?

Slowly, I lifted my hand to my face and brushed my fingers across my cheeks. I was crying…? The salty taste was obviously coming from the odd tears that were sliding down my face.

Why was I crying? After all, it was just candy.

Strangely enough, I found myself smiling through the tears. The taste was so familiar…yet, I couldn't pinpoint where I had eaten this before.

It had a sweet taste, but underneath all the sugariness I detected a faint tone of something more bittersweet.

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**A/N:** Whew...that chapter was hard to write. Sorry if it seemed kind of random. And sorry if it seemed rather...gloomy, but it all helps lead to the next chapter's events. On a random note, I actually quite like writing in Silver's P.O.V. (he's so insightful!). Sorry for the randomness. Please review!


	24. A Special Day

Hey guys! Er...first of all, sorry for the lack of updates.(') School + homework + tests + writer's block= dead brain/no updates. So, I apologize. Hopefully this long-ish chapter will convince you not to kill me. As usual, thank you to all the wonderful reviewers! (The reviews helped me pull through the writer's block!) Let's see...as to answers to review questions: Yes, I will probably throw in the D.P. trio later (though they won't be the main characters...more like cameos(?)). To **starrain15**: Don't worry, Platina will eventually change. In the beginning though, she's going to be a bit of a snob...-_-'. To **A-Imout**o: Like Platina, Sapph will change. She just needs some time (and Ruby!) to help her become softer/more like a girl. In general, the characters are slowly beginning to develop; please bear with me! Oh, and to **ArchXDeath**: Yes, I like strawberries! XD Anyhoo, please review!

**Disclaimer**: After three months of updating, pokemon STILL isn't mine!

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**Sapphire's P.O.V.**

"Damn…"

I sighed, leaping down from the branch I was currently standing on, onto the ground. Looking around, I noticed something white lying near the base of one of the trees. (I was currently at my "secret" location.)

Stepping around the tree, I was surprised to see Ruby lying there with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head. He appeared to be sleeping, since his breathing was slow and rhythmic.

Slowly, I approached and squatted down beside him. For a second I simply stared at him, taking in all his facial features; oddly enough, they reminded me of someone I had seen before. I inched closer.

Then I stopped. What was I doing? I shook my head in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

I froze and turned my head slowly to look down at Ruby. He had an amused smile on his face and one eye open, watching me, while the other remained closed.

"So, what were you doing?" he repeated.

"N-nothing!" I snapped quickly, slightly flustered at being caught staring.

There was a pause. "If you say so," Ruby finally said. With that, he closed his other eye and resumed sleeping…? Now I wasn't even certain. I sat back onto the grass, pulling my knees up to my chest.

"Why are you here?"

Ruby's eyes snapped open, looking a bit irritated. "Why can't I be here?" he shot back.

I could sense the challenging tone in his voice. "'Cause this is my spot!"

"Yours?" Suddenly, Ruby sat up. "It's a free country; this is my spot as much as it's your spot."

"Yeah, well…" I looked away. Feeling Ruby's eyes on me, I could also feel my face growing warm. "Whatever."

Surprisingly I heard a low chuckle. I lifted my head slowly and saw Ruby laughing and trying hard to hide it.

"Hey! Don't laugh at me!" I yelped.

"Sorry." Ruby grinned apologetically. "I was just surprised to see you blushing."

"I wasn't blushing!" I protested. Ruby raised his eye disbelievingly, but didn't say anything. "So why are you here anyways?"

Ruby noticed the change of subject, but didn't comment. He shrugged. "I needed to get away from all the tension in the house."

"Out here?" Now I was the one who was scoffing. "You're afraid of getting dirt; don't lie. There's no way you would come outside."

"…I was just thinking about stuff."

"About Red's parents' deaths?"

Ruby looked slightly shocked. "Geez, do you have to put it so bluntly?" I shrugged. He continued. "But yeah, I was."

"Do you know how they died?" I couldn't help asking; I was curious.

Ruby glanced sideways at me before looking away. "Kind of…I don't know all the details though. He doesn't like talking about it much. I've just heard that he's had a pretty bad past."

"A bad past, huh?"

Both of us were silent. I was musing over Ruby's last few words. A bad past? That sounded familiar…

**-flashback-**

Cheerful laughter filled the grove, adding to the happy atmosphere. A little boy chased after the small girl; both had joyful expressions as they played with their best companion. Within moments however, the mood shifted.

"Ssshr….ssshr…"

"Huh?" The girl paused as she stared at the branches shaking in front of her.

Suddenly, a wild Salamance burst out of undergrowth, glaring menacingly at the small children. The boy stopped just behind the girl, also staring in shock.

"A wild Salamance!" he yelled, just as the large dragon pokemon lunged forward.

"GWAA!!!!!"

"Kyaa-!" the girl screamed in terror, still frozen in place.

Luckily the boy was quicker to respond; pushing the girl down out of harm's way; narrowly avoiding getting his own head snapped off.

"Stay here!" he yelled back to the girl as he summoned his pokemon forward.

The girl watched wide-eyed; still petrified as the battle between boy and dragon happened before her very eyes. And the horrible moment when streaks of crimson blood flew in the air…

**-end flashback-**

"You okay?"

"Wha-?" I opened my eyes to see Ruby peering curiously at me. Immediately I jerked backwards in surprise. "Don't come so close to me like that!" I yelped.

"Sorry, sorry." He held up his hands in apology. "You were just grimacing a lot so I was wondering what was wrong."

I chewed my bottom lip, trying to decide whether or not to tell Ruby. After all, this was my most painful memory; one that had haunted me ever since I was little.

As if he had read my mind, Ruby held up his hands again. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Well…" Nervously tugging on a piece of grass, I opened my mouth, prepared to tell Ruby something I'd never told anyone. "See, back in Hoenn…"

"Ring, ring! Ring, ring!"

"Whoa!" Hurriedly Ruby reached into his pocket and pulled out a black and red pokegear. I shut my mouth, feeling slightly disappointed.

"Hello?" Ruby said. "Yeah. Right now? Fine, I'll be there in a few minutes. Nowhere; don't worry, I'll be there okay? See you soon." He snapped the pokegear shut with a sigh and turned back to me, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, Gold needs help with something. I've gotta go."

"…Yeah. It's fine." I looked down at the ground; an odd feeling of frustration filling the pit of my stomach.

"Hey."

I looked up, raising my eyebrows in question.

"I'll see you later at the opening ceremony, alright?" Ruby said, looking back at me with a smile.

Feeling strangely embarrassed, I nodded and returned the smile. "It's a promise." Ruby's own grin got bigger as he turned away and jogged back to the dorms.

**Blue's P.O.V.**

"Ready Blue?"

I turned away from the dresser mirror, setting down the brush in my right hand. "Yeah. Just finishing getting all ready."

Getting up, I smiled at Silver; reaching over to rustle his red hair. "You look so cute!" Silver rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. He was wearing a simple white dress shirt along with black pants and a dark red tie, but with his hair tied up, Silver looked much more sophisticated (in my opinion).

Silver held out his arm in a simple gesture. "Ready to go?"

I took it and giggled, already excited about the ceremony. "Yeah! Let's go!"

**-outside the arena-**

Quickly I scanned the surrounding area, looking for the others. Finally I spotted them. "Hey guys!" I yelled, running through the crowd and pulling Silver along with me. He ducked his head, muttering apologies to people we ran into and glaring at others who had deliberately run into us.

Of course Sapph was the first one to hear us coming. She whirled around, smiling her sharp-toothed grin. "Hey Blue! Hey Silver!"

Finally we reached the others as Crys and Yellow greeted us. "So when's this thing start?" Sapph asked impatiently, eying the crowd.

"Soon, soon," Crys assured. "Are you looking for someone?" Like me, she had noticed Sapph's jumpy behavior.

"Wha-? No!" Sapph yelped. She shook her head a few times as though to emphasize her point. Crys raised her eyebrows but let it go. Instead, she turned to Silver who had been standing quietly next to me the whole time.

"So what do you think of K.E.P.A. Silver?"

Silver paused for a moment. "It's…interesting." I saw him glance at something to his left before moving a bit closer to me.

Peering around his shoulder I saw a group of girls giggling and blushing as they stared unabashedly at Silver. I couldn't help giggling a little myself. Poor Silver; he wasn't used to being in the spotlight or getting any type of female attention.

"'Sup guys!"

All of us turned to see Gold hurtling through the crowd toward us; barely managing to skid to a stop next to Crys. Immediately, he threw his arm around her shoulders and grinned widely at her. Of course, Crys shook him off and began scolding him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"What?" Gold shrugged. "Can't I put my arm around my girl."

Crys turned a bit pink. "I'm not your girl!" she spluttered indignantly. "Idiot, you'll give people the wrong idea!"

I could see what she meant. The giggling girls who had been checking Silver out only moments ago were now glaring daggers straight at Crys. They were probably barely resisting the urge to strangle her…or worse.

Then I noticed the other guys coming and waved. Red reached us first and greeted us cheerfully, followed by a silent Green and a frowning Ruby.

"What's up with you?" Sapph asked, directing the question at Ruby.

"Wha-?" He looked almost surprised to see us. "Oh, nothing," he finally answered, remembering Sapph had asked a question. "I just hate crowds…they're so noisy…and dirty…" Quickly, his eyes flicked over to the girls who had been looking over at Silver; the mob of girls had gotten bigger due the sudden appearance of the GR2.

Sapph noticed where Ruby was looking and glared straight at them. "What a bunch of idiots," she muttered.

I didn't hear a response from Ruby because at that moment, the large doors of the stadium flung open and the throng of people surged forward. I winced, feeling my toes being treaded upon and elbows digging against me as everyone pushed onward to get in.

"Hey!" I yelped, feeling a particularly heavy pair of feet walk right on top of my own foot. "Watch it!" I barked out as a large, tacky, pink and gold handbag wacked my arm. I growled, feeling _very_ irritated. Carefully, I took a deep breath, counting to ten. One…two…three…

"Oh look girls. It's that bitch from before."

Slowly, I turned around. Right behind me, wearing a snarky smirk under her (undoubtedly) plastic nose, was Magenta. And of course, her posse surrounded her. I grimaced. They were the last people I wanted to see.

"Why you lookin' so sad, honey?" Magenta asked in a false, sugary-sweet tone. "Upset that Green ditched you?" I opened my mouth to retort, but one of the girls started before me.

"Hey, have you guys seen her with that red headed guy?" the purple haired one (Lavender, I think) asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I saw him around. But he's always with _her_." Celestine glared at me. "So who is he, huh? Your boyfriend? Or just another one of your boy toys? Is that why Green dumped you?"

I snapped. "Listen up. First of all, Green is _not_ my boyfriend. I barely even know him. Second, Silver is like my brother. So it's disgusting to think that I would ever even consider the idea of getting into a relationship ship like _that_ with him." My voice grew louder and louder with each word; I even stepped forward as I spoke, until I was face to face with Magenta at the end of my speech. "So don't even think about something stupid like that!" I finished, poking her shoulder.

In response to all this, I got two responses. One: Magenta gave me a wide-eyed look that said, "What the fuck?!?" and two: Magenta screamed, "WHAT THE FUCK?!?" Before I knew it, she was full out screaming in my face.

"DON'T EVEN THINK OF TOUCHING ME YOU BITCH! GREEN WILL NEVER LIKE YOU! STOP ACTING ALL NICE AND INNOCENT, BECAUSE IT'S SO FUCKIN' OBVIOUS THAT HE OR ANY OF THE GR2 WILL EVER GO WITH A SLUT LIKE YOU!"

With that, she shoved me backwards into Celestine. I only had time to hear a disgusted snort, before being pushed sideways, this time into who I presumed to be Lavender (due to the light purple hair I saw whip by the side of my vision). Within moments, I was being tossed around by the psycho group of fan girls.

The whole world seemed to blur into a myriad of sounds and colors. The taunting voices of the girls, the whirlwind of colors… I tried to fight back, but there was something so eerily familiar about this scene. The tormenting…the bullying…it was all too familiar…

"Stop."

A strong hand gripped my wrist as someone stepped in front of me, blocking the rabid fan girls. I blinked, looking up slowly. Silver stood glaring at the girls, daring them to try and take one step closer. Of course, they didn't. Instead, they blinked, trying to play the innocent card.

"Oh sorry! We just accidently bumped into her!" Mint cried out. She batted her eyelashes at Silver, leaning towards him. "Who are you anyways?"

Silver's glare deepened. "A friend of Blue's, which is all you need to know." He glanced at me worriedly. "C'mon Blue." With that, he pulled me away from the girls. As we walked, I looked over my shoulder and caught sight of the steady gaze of Green. He had been a little distance away from the commotion, though close enough to have intervened. Catching his eye, I glared, before turning my head away and quickly following Silver.

**Green's P.O.V.**

That glare…

It was so cold…so hateful…and so out of character for Blue.

I shook my head, sprinkling drops of water in every direction. Reaching out, I turned off the shower tap, watching the water slowly sink down the drain. After pulling on a pair of shorts, I began rubbing my hair furiously with a towel, trying to rub the troublesome thoughts out of my head as well.

Why did she have to just show up so suddenly again? I had thought I had forgotten her, but every time I saw her, an old memory would just spring up randomly. Obviously I had not forgotten her…rather, I had pushed her into the back of my mind and now that she was back…well, she was making reappearance in my thoughts as well.

"Thanks for today Silver."

I stopped my towel rubbing at the sound of Blue's voice from the room next door. I could hear her footsteps on the cold marble floor, followed by a second set of feet (Silver's).

"It's nothing Blue, you know that already." There was a moment of silence. "Besides, it's nothing compared to everything you've done for me."

Blue spoke, sounding exasperated. "You don't have to keep thanking me Silver! You helped me back then too; I never would have been able to get through it all if you hadn't been there." Her voice rose slightly at the end of her sentence.

"Still…" Silver paused. Then he continued hesitantly. "It's…it's today isn't it?" There was no answer, but I heard a sob. "Sorry Blue. I didn't mean to remind you…"

"It's okay." Blue's voice wavered. "Besides, today's the day I met you remember?" I detected the fake note of happiness in her voice, something Silver noticed too.

"Blue…"

"Hey! Get out Silver! I'm going to change, sheesh!" There was a slight scuffling noise and the hard sound of a door slamming. Then…the sound of Blue's muffled sobs. Silently, I left the bathroom and walked into my bedroom, shutting the door and collapsing on the bed.

So today was the day Blue met Silver… Was that why she had been looking at the calendar in the living room? But why had she been crying then and now? Looking to my left, my eyes caught sight of my own calendar sitting on the nightstand.

Immediately my eyes widened. Sitting up, I snatched the calendar off the table. There was no way it was today… Suddenly it all clicked.

**-flashback-**

"She's gone?"

"Yes…"

Green paused, peering around the edge of the backdoor leading into the kitchen of his grandfather's house. Sitting around the kitchen table, nursing cups of tea were Professor Oak and Blue's parents. Quickly, Green scanned the area for any sign of the pesky girl, but saw nothing.

"So there's no sign of her anywhere?"

Blue's father shook his head. "No. We searched the whole house from top to bottom. We looked everywhere in the woods surrounding the house. She's just…gone."

The professor's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and worry. "Have you contacted Officer Jenny?"

Blue's parents nodded wordlessly. A choked sob made its way through Blue's mother's throat. Blue's father patted her hand, blinking furiously. He spoke, "We…we were hoping you or your grandson might have seen any sign of her."

Professor Oak shook his head. "No. The last time we saw her she was skipping down the lane back to your house."

"Then could you please ask your grandson?" There was a note of desperation in Blue's father's voice.

"Well…I'll ask him later. I don't want to worry him; who knows how he'll take the news that Blue's missing."

A clatter startled the adults. Jumping up, Professor Oak strode to the open door and saw the dropped pails, spilled pokefood, and retreating back of his grandson, running furiously into the woods. He sighed. "Poor kid…"

-in the woods (still in F.B.)-

"Scyther!"

"Scyther! Look for Blue!" Green panted, not bothering to slow down as he noticed his pokemon running beside him.

The green pokemon nodded, leaping into the trees at rapid pace. Green slowed, still breathing heavily. Looking up into the bright blue sky, he clenched his fists. "Where are you Blue?"

***

"Pidgeot!"

"Good job Pidgeot." Professor Oak patted the large bird pokemon, before returning it to its pokeball. He scooped up his fallen grandson and headed back to the lab. As soon as he reached the door, he was greeted by a frantic Daisy.

"You found him?!? Oh thank Mew!" sighed the young girl.

The professor didn't answer, laying the boy onto the clean bed in his room. Daisy waited silently, sensing something was amiss. Professor Oak reached over, smoothening Green's hair before walking out of the room. Daisy followed.

"Well, thank Mew we found him!" Daisy repeated as cheerfully as she could. Her grandfather sat at the kitchen table, frowning. Daisy glanced at him worriedly. "You must be tired grandpa. I'll make you a cup of tea."

"I'm going to send Green away."

The mug in Daisy's hand dropped, smashing into dozens of pieces. Daisy didn't notice. "What?!"

"I'm going to send Green away." Daisy gawked, but Professor Oak continued relentlessly. "I've been hearing some rumors about a secret organization kidnapping young children. I fear that Blue's been taken by it…and I'm afraid they might target Green next."

Daisy's mouth had been open to protest now snapped shut. "But where will he go?"

Professor Oak looked out the window over the sink, musing over the question. "I have a friend in Johto who I know will be able to keep Green safe."

"And when will you tell him?"

There was a rustling noise from the bedroom. Professor Oak stood up and sighed. "Now."

***

"Grandpa! I have to go look for Blue!"

"Lay down." Professor Oak pushed on Green's shoulder gently, trying to sooth the agitated boy. "Relax." Frowning, the boy did as told.

"But I have to go look for her!"

Professor Oak's head drooped tiredly. "Green, I want you to stop looking for Blue."

"What?"

"I want you to stop looking for Blue. We already have many adults searching for her. You'll only be in the way."

"No! I have to look for her!" demanded the boy. He struggled to sit back up, only to be pushed back onto the bed.

"Green!" A sharp edge in the professor's voice stopped Green's struggling. "I'm going to send you away from here so please forget about Blue!" With that, he stood up, walking out of the room and shutting the door. On the other side, silent tears trickled down the old man's face. Inside, Green sat, speechless and afraid.

***

"Be…be careful Green!" Daisy mustered, straightening out Green's jacket for the last time as she, her brother, and her grandfather stood on the dock waiting for the boat to arrive.

Green pushed her hands away silently. The boat had arrived, setting down the bridge onto the dock as passengers got on and off.

"We'll see you soon Green!" Daisy tried to say cheerfully.

"Don't bother."

Green turned, shouldering his bag and walking silently toward the boat. "Green!" the professor finally spoke up. "Just…be safe."

Slowly, the boy turned and glared. "I hate you."

***

"Eh? A kid from Pallet Town? And you're the grandson of Professor Oak? Wow, that's pretty amazing!" exclaimed one of the people waiting at the address Green had been given.

"It doesn't matter who my grandpa is! I hate him!"

The lady simply laughed. "Oh, don't be embarrassed. Everyone here admires your grandfather for his wonderful achievements!"

"Stop calling him my grandpa! I don't want to be associated with that old man ever again!" yelled Green. "Don't ever say that again…"

Before he could finish speaking, he was grabbed and dunked into a pot of water. Within moments, Green learned what it was like to be seen as someone different, someone who _wasn't_ Professor Oak's son.

**-end flashback-**

Was that what Blue had been crying about? I smiled bitterly. What a stupid question. Of course that had been what she had been crying about.

I sighed, remembering the day's events; seeing Blue being pushed around and doing nothing to stop it. I was simply a coward. I hadn't been able to save Blue now just as I wasn't able to save her so many years back then…

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**A/N**: Wow...that was kind of depressing too... *sigh* Well, at least it was an update. Please enjoy it as best as you could and review! (Next chapter is partially planned, so the next update will hopefully *fingers crossed* not be too far away). Please remember to review!

**Random note**: Does anyone like Distantshipping (SilverXPlatina)? I'm just curious, because recently I started thinking about this ship. (This is only, however, if Diamond was out of the picture.) Anyways, thoughts?


	25. Food for Thought

...Hey people. Apologies for lack of updates(*sigh* I always have to apologize, because I NEVER seem to update anymore ) As usual, the educational system is my enemy that will never die. So, I would like to apologize. But, thank you to all the kind people who reviewed; you guys are the best! As to your questions: To **Shipperfag**: Haha, yeah, I support Fatherlyshipping and it will probably come into play at some point. To **im-a-tumo**r: Gracefulshipping is a very high possibility as well as more champions/gym leaders showing up. (As well as more minor ships between gym leaders and such.) As for Kotone...not sure yet. Sorry! Anyways, to everyone who was worried about Distantshipping, it will probably NOT be Platina's main ship (not going to tell you which one is, mwahaha), but there may be little bits of it thrown in here or there. That's it; onto the reading! Please review!

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon isn't mine! (Or else Crystal would be the heroine in HeartGold/SoulSilver!)

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**Ruby's P.O.V.**

"Sheesh…coming out here is so much trouble…"

I stopped to wipe a bead of sweat trickling down my forehead with the back of my hand, while shifting the heavy load on my shoulder. Continuing onward I pulled the collar of my shirt away from my neck, trying desperately to get a breath of air. Finally, I reached the clearing.

Gratefully, I practically threw down my bag. The largest burden, however, I set down carefully with a grunt of pain, flexing my arm to get the feeling back into it.

"What's that?"

"Whoa!" I jumped back a few steps. Standing in front of me was Sapphire (in all her "natural" glory), pointing a sharp finger downward.

"Well, it's…" I squatted down, lifting the item up, "…a picnic basket."

"A picnic basket? ...As in food?!?" Sapphire's voice immediately changed to one of extreme happiness. She stretched out an eager hand toward said basket. Immediately I moved the basket away from her hand. She frowned. "Hey! What gives?"

"This isn't just any picnic basket. I'm going to use it to tutor you!"

"What? You're going to teach me how to _eat_?" Sapphire's voice was incredulous.

I rolled my eyes. "No. I'm going to teach you some etiquette."

Sapphire stared at me for exactly one minute. Then, "That's stupid."

Sighing, I hit my forehead with the palm of my hand. "And this is exactly why I need to teach you manners," I muttered.

Seeing how Sapphire was no longer protesting or trying to stop me, I set the basket down and began unpacking the picnic basket (after unrolling the blanket I'd also brought along). Finished, I rocked back on my heels and smiled up at Sapphire. "Done."

Cautiously she sat down on the blanket, looking amazed by the variety spread out over it. I could practically see the saliva dripping from her mouth as she greedily took in the sight of the massive feast. Then, she lunged for a piece of chicken…before I smacked her hand away.

"Ow! What the hell?!" she yelped.

I didn't answer, busy filling two plates; one for me and one for her. I turned back to Sapphire and handed her the plate.

"Eat," I said simply.

She narrowed her eyes; obviously she thought this was some kind of trap. Regardless, she snatched a piece of chicken and held it up to her mouth.

"Fsst-!"

"HEY!"

I immediately started to laugh. Sapphire's entire face was wet and little droplets of water were dripping downward as she glared at me. She growled loudly and I shut up immediately.

"Why do you have a spray bottle?" she asked, voice dangerously soft.

"Because you were eating like a rabid Pokemon, therefore, I'm going to treat you like a rabid Pokemon," I answered. "Starting with punishment in the form of this spray bottle."

Seeing Sapphire eye the bottle, I moved it closer to my body, gesturing at the same time for her to continue eating. Eventually (after more death glaring), she did.

"Fsst-!" "Sit up straight."

"Fsst-!" "Don't spread your legs out like that; it's not ladylike."

"Fsst-!" "Slow down! Sheesh, you eat like a wild Swinub…"

"Fsst-!" "Smaller bites."

With every squirt I could see Sapphire's expression growing angrier and the grip on her fork tightened, knuckles turning dangerously white. Still…I couldn't help but be amused. Who knew squirting people with a spray bottle could be so fun?

While I was thinking all this, Sapphire had taken the time to shove a handful of cookies into her mouth, chewing and swallowing in a matter of seconds.

"Fsst-!" "Don't shove it all in your mouth. And wipe your mouth. Here."

Leaning over, I carefully swiped at the crumbs surrounding Sapphire's mouth with a handkerchief. Immediately she pulled back with a huff.

"Don't do that!"

"What? Wipe your mouth?" I asked, folding the handkerchief. "Fine, here."

Sapphire peeked from the corner of her eye at the proffered piece of cloth and raised an eyebrow questioningly. I shook it once, indicating for her to take it. Reluctantly she did with a, "What the heck is this?"

"It's a handkerchief. Use it to wipe your mouth," I explained, gesturing at the corners of my own mouth.

Sapphire rolled her eyes, making a half-hearted sweep across her mouth before dropping the handkerchief back onto the blanket. Snatching it in mid-air, I frowned. "Keep it." I held out the handkerchief toward Sapphire.

"What?"

"Keep it," I repeated. "I made it for you, okay?"

Slowly, Sapphire reached out and took the small piece of cloth from my hand. "You made this for me…?" Her voice had changed to a quieter and more surprised tone.

"Er…yeah…" Suddenly unable to meet Sapphire's eyes I rummaged through the picnic basket aimlessly. "I had a bit of spare cloth and some time so I just decided to make you a handkerchief. Every lady should have one you know," I added quickly, feeling the back of my neck growing hot.

Sapphire didn't answer; her face oddly expressionless as her thumb brushed over her name that I had carefully embroidered onto the handkerchief. Feeling intrusive for staring at her for so long I looked elsewhere for a distraction, finding it in the form of Sapphire's plate.

"Cross your silverware when you're done," I said, reaching for the squirt bottle….

Only to have Sapphire snatch it right before my hand reached it. With a "pop-!" she pulled off the top (with the spray nozzle) and unceremoniously dumped the rest of the water on me.

"Ble-h!" I coughed out in surprise as the ice cold liquid splashed my face. "What was that for?!?"

Sapphire smirked triumphantly (and evilly I noted dryly). "That's payback for squirting all that water on me!" She continued to watch with a wide grin as I wiped my face on my sleeves. I frowned; the school uniform material was obviously _not_ meant to absorb this much liquid (which made me wonder, how _did_ that small bottle hold that much water anyways?).

"Here, you missed a spot." Leaning over, Sapphire dabbed the side of my face, still smiling. Immediately I froze. Sapphire, not noticing how tense I was, finished wiping and sat back. "I'm hungry," she commented, grabbing a cookie in each hand and stuffing her face.

This time I let her off. Staring at the wild girl in front of me who was eating like her life depended on it made me wonder if what had just occurred was just a figment of my imagination. As though she had read my mind, Sapphire looked up.

"What?"

"Nothing." I shook my head as she shrugged, chugging down a glass of lemonade in no time flat. I sighed. At least she had used her handkerchief…

**Crystal's P.O.V.**

"Hello? Anyone here?"

I slid the classroom door further open, stepping into the room and sliding it shut. As I had assumed, the classroom was empty. Unsurprising, really, since I had asked Professor Elm if I could borrow his room after school for tutoring. …That is, if my pupil decided to show up.

Glancing at the Pikachu clock on the wall, I quickly set up the materials necessary for the lesson planned. Fifteen minutes later, Gold was _still_ nowhere to be found. Without warning, a sudden rumbling noise startled me.

"Wha-?" More rumbling. Looking down, realized it was my stomach. I sweatdropped. "When was the last time I ate…?"

Thinking back about it, I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast (which had been one measly slice of toast). I had been too busy rushing back and forth, helping the professor finish some reports during lunch and perfecting an English paper during snack.

"No wonder my stomach's growling…" I mumbled. Luckily, I always planned ahead. (With my mother's tendency to easily forget things, I learned early on to plan ahead.) Shifting through my spare pencils, extra erasers, and additional school supplies, I pulled out my emergency snack. "It'll have to do," I sighed.

"Pocky!"

"Not for you," I snapped, instinctively moving the box of Pocky away from Gold's grabbing hands. He frowned.

"Geez, I thought they taught you how to share in kindergarten Super Serious Gal."

I didn't answer, too occupied with opening the pink box and ripping open the silver package. The sweet aroma of the snack filled the air. I breathed in deeply before grabbing one and taking a bite. I smiled; I hadn't eaten strawberry Pocky for a long time.

Turning around, I saw Gold staring at me with pleading eyes. "What?" I asked.

"I'm huuuuungry…" he whined.

"No."

"Just one."

"No."

"Pleeeeease."

"No."

"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!"

I relented; he sounded like a dying Pidgeot. "Fine, but only one!"

With the speed of a starving Arcanine who smelt a juicy steak, Gold stuffed his hand into the box and pulled out two sticks of Pocky.

"Hey! I said you could only have one!" I protested. "Give one back!"

Instead of doing as I asked (or demanded), Gold clamped down on both sticks at once, holding them with his teeth so that about three-quarters of the Pocky stuck out. In other words, he looked like a Walrein.

"'Oo 'ant it?" he mumbled through his mouthful of Pocky. ""ome an' 'et it." (Translation: You want it? Come and get it.)

"No, gross!" I snapped. "Keep it."

He smirked (looking like some freaky vampire due to the Pocky) and quickly polished off both sticks. Then, he reached out a hopeful hand.

"I don't think so," I said. "We're going to start on math today."

"But that's so boring…" Gold moaned.

"Too bad," I said unsympathetically. "You're going to have to do this math homework whether you like it or not!"

With that, I marched towards the desks I had set up. Gold followed reluctantly, grumbling under his breath.

Sitting down, I opened the book to the spot I had carefully bookmarked, quickly skimming it. I pushed the book towards Gold and pointed at an equation, "x=16, when y=2…" I explained the problem as best I could, not looking up from the book until I was done…only to find a half-sleeping Gold.

"Wake up!" I slammed the book shut.

"What-?"

"Don't you dare go to sleep on me!" I snapped, losing my patience. I was getting tired of Gold's lazy attitude toward academics (which I valued most). Plus, no one had _ever_ fallen asleep when I was teaching. Needless to say, I took this as a rather personal offense. "I'm giving up the time I could be doing reports or other more important things to try and teach you!"

Gold simply looked amused. My glare deepened at his wide smirk. "Well, it's hard to focus. I told you, that stuff is boring," he said.

"Boring or not, it's for your own good."

Gold raised an eyebrow. "What'd you do? Eat a book for breakfast or something? You sound like Professor Oak."

I reddened. "Keep your pointless comments to yourself." Opening the book, I rapped the page. "Now do number one." Gold sighed, but pulled out a pencil and piece of paper and began writing. I breathed my own sigh (of relief).

"Done."

I was surprised. He had finished in about 45 seconds. Looking at the messy scrawl across the top of the paper, I realized why.

"It's not even remotely correct," I said. "Did you even try?"

Gold scratched his head, trying (and failing) to look apologetic. "It's hard. And…" I glared at him, daring him to say it. He shut his mouth quickly.

"I mean, there's no motivation for me to do this crap!"

"Motivation?" I pondered over Gold's curious answer. As I thought, I reached into the box of Pocky. Gold perked up at the slight rustle the bag made.

"I want one!"

"No, you can't have…" I drifted off, staring down at the bright pink box, an idea already forming. I smiled. "Never mind. You can have one…" Gold grinned, reaching for the box. Quickly, I moved it away. "…if you can do one problem."

"What?!?"

"That's the rule," I stated firmly, wondering if this was going to work. With a sigh and a quick glance at the box of Pocky, Gold grudgingly picked up the pencil.

Watching from the corner of my eye, I couldn't help but smile a little. Gold was scratching the back of his head, staring hard at the numbers in front of him; the tip of his tongue poked out in concentration. As I stared at Gold, I felt a strange urge to reach over and brush away the strand of hair that covered his eyes…

"Done!" Gold half-yelled happily. I jumped, startled; but recovered quickly.

"Let me see." I reached over to take the paper, looking over his work and answer. Though it was still quite messy, the work was done correctly and the answer was right. "Fine, you can have one."

This time, I handed Gold the stick of Pocky, not trusting that he would only take one. Of course he finished it quickly and pouted. "One more," he pleaded.

"Do another problem," I retorted.

Sighing in defeat, Gold again grabbed the pencil and began to do the next problem, earning another stick of Pocky. Then he did another problem. And another…and another…and another…until he had finished them all.

"There, I'm finally done with all of them!" Gold said, throwing down the pencil in relief.

Scanning over the final problem, I saw it was correct and handed Gold his reward stick of Pocky. Surprisingly as Gold had done his math homework I realized he honestly wasn't stupid, he actually knew what he was doing. (I suspected his lack of attention span and tendency to not look over his answers as the cause of his low grades.)

"That took forever," Gold grunted, standing up and stretching. Glancing at the clock, I saw two hours had flown by. Outside, the sun was already setting, painting the sky in hues of dark orange and golden yellow.

"Not really," I answered, quickly packing up all the books and pushing the desks back in place. Looking into the Pocky box, I saw there was only one stick of Pocky left.

Pulling it out, I was about to bite into it, when Gold spoke up. "I want it!"

"No way," I said. "You ate nearly the entire box just doing your math homework. I only had one when I opened the box."

With that, I stuck part of the Pocky into my mouth. In a flash, Gold leapt forward and caught the other end of the Pocky in his mouth. Immediately, I jerked backward in surprise, snapping the Pocky neatly in half.

"Why'd you do that for?!?" I yelped. I could feel my cheeks heating up as I remembered how Gold's face had only been a few inches away from my own.

"I told you, I'm hungry." Gold grinned maniacally, crunching up the rest of the Pocky. "Anyway, thanks for the Pocky." Grabbing his backpack, he slung it over one shoulder and walked to the door, opening it. Then he half-turned to look at me. "By the way, that last one was the tastiest one." Immediately I flushed and his grin widened as he shut the door.

I stood there for a second, staring at the closed door. Then, I picked up the empty Pocky box, looking down at it and shaking my head. I sighed, a small smile creeping up on my face. "What an idiot…"

* * *

**A/N:** Whoo...that was kinda hard to write. Hope you guys enjoyed it anyways and sorry for the lack of updates! An important note: I will begin to do some time skipping soon (as in skipping a couple of days/weeks) in the story to get the plot moving quicker. Just to warn you guys ahead of time. Well, that's it for this chapter; please review!


	26. First Step

Hi guys. So after 3(?) years, I have finally returned! No, I have not died/gotten married/gotten eaten by rabid Ursarings, I've just been busy with a multitude of things that I won't bore you poor people with. Just a last note before you can resume reading my long un-updated fanfic: I apologize for not updating in forever! And I want to say THANK YOU to all the wonderful people who kept reading and having faith that one day I'd get back to this writing business. Special thanks to those who reviewed; it really gave me the belief and motivation that there were people out there who still wanted to read my fic. Thanks guys and enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Pokemon is not mine

* * *

**Blue's P.O.V.**

"Finish him off with Double Kick Nido!"

Nido roared loudly and rushed at the badly poisoned Primeape opposite her. Pushing off with her tail, she flipped forward, both feet glowing and slammed into the pig monkey pokemon.

"Prime-!" With a final croak, the Primeape fainted.

"No! Primeape!" wailed my opponent, a slim girl with gold braids.

"Primeape is unable to battle! Nido is the winner! Blue Kyoko is the winner!" Up on the television screen behind the referee the image of Primeape faded before Nido's picture expaned, followed by my own with the word "WINNER" underneath. I couldn't help but feel a rush of pride as I returned Nido with a word of praise and descended from the stadium.

"Nice work Blue!"

I turned around as Sapph, Crys, and Yellow approached. "Thanks guys! That was one of the easier opponents," I admitted.

"You're telling me!" scoffed Sapph. "I knew she was a wimp the minute she started crying after your Wigglytuff put her Rattata to sleep and was slapping it around!"

"Still, all victories are a sign of a trainer and pokemon's effort and teamwork," Crys said, nodding approvingly at me. "Anyways, we came to congratulate you but also to go to the Contest halls, want to come?"

I shook my head, "Maybe later. But I think I'm gonna head back to the house first and take a rest. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Are you okay?" Yellow's voice was concerned as usual. I nodded but Crys looked sharply at me.

"Still having nightmares?" Her gaze was scrutinizing and I looked away, shrugging.

"It's fine. I think they're fading."

"You know, we could always see the school therapist…" Yellow suggested tentatively. I shook my head adamantly. "No way! I'm fine, seriously you guys. I just need a nap and I'll be good. See you later ok?"

I turned away quickly before they could reply and started walking back to the house.

**-In the woods-**

"I know, I know. I know they were concerned, but I just didn't feel like talking at the time, ok? It's a legitimate reason!"

"'Tuff?"

Puriri cocked her head at my defensive tone, innocent expression held throughout my entire rant. I sighed.

"Sorry Puriri, I'm just feeling a little homesick I guess…"

Even if it had only been about a month since I'd been away from home, I was definitely missing mom, dad, and Silver. Not to mention the warmer weather of Sevii; I pulled my jacket tighter around me and shivered slightly. January in Kanto was the equivalent of being locked into a walk-in deep freezer in my opinion. Even if it wasn't as far north as Sinnoh, it definitely wasn't sunny Sevii.

Sticking my hands into my jacket pockets for warmth, I felt the crinkle of paper brush my fingertips. Feeling a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth, I pulled it out and smoothed it.

Dear Blue,

Even though you've just left, we're already missing you here at home. Please remember to wear the scarf and gloves your father and I gave you for Christmas. We chose them (meaning I chose them, your father paid) with your happiness and health in mind. Pink used to be your favorite color! Hopefully you still at least like it, fingers crossed. It's been fairly quiet at home. Father is busy with work, I've been trying out new recipes from the cookbook you gave me (The Swinub stew in the Hoenn section of the book looks promising, though it might be a little tough…), and Silver is busy with schoolwork so there's no lack of activity in the house though we miss the light that you add. Speaking of Silver, lately a girl's been coming around asking if he can "hang out?" (I'm not sure what you kids call spending time together anymore.) You know your brother. The answer is always a grunt and a door in the face to the poor girl. I tried to lecture him, but you always were the best at controlling that boy! Still, this young lady is quite persistent! She's come back every day, always grinning cheerfully and greeting me nicely. But my goodness! After the daily door in the face, she pops around to the back where Silver's window is and yells for him to come down. He inevitably slams the window (that boy!) but I wonder if she will grow on him. Yesterday, he actually listened to her complete proposal to go to the new ice cream parlor that just opened in town before slamming the door. Who knows; maybe by the end of the year, your brother will have a girlfriend! The doorbell just rang and I can guess who it is. Be careful and stay warm Blue, Silver and father send their love as do I!

Love,

Mom

I giggled at the mental image of Silver being constantly bugged by some harassing girl. From mom's letter, she sounded like a girl I could easily get along and become friends with. I sighed.

"Too bad I'm stuck here instead…"

"Talking to yourself?"

I felt a small, "Eeep-!" of surprise escape from my lips as I looked up from the paper in my hands to the cool gaze of Green.

"Is that what you do when you can't find anyone around to talk to? Talk to yourself?"

I pouted. "No! You just caught me at a bad time that's all." I folded my arms and stared back challengingly at Green. To my utter lack surprise, he didn't seem bothered at all by my glare.

"Wigglytuff!"

The look on my squishy, pink Pokemon was one of total disapproval as she folded her arms in an exact imitation of my own. Glancing sideways at Green, I noticed his lips twitch upwards in amusement. My own stance relaxed.

Seeing the tension fade, Puriri dropped her arms and waddled over to pull excitedly at my skirt. "'Tuff! Wiggly!"

"What is it?" I allowed her to tug me through the bushes, mildly aware that Green followed behind silently.

In an empty clearing before us was a fairly small building; the roof was red, the walls were yellow, and cheerful flower boxes lined the windowsills. Perched inside one of those windows was a sign that read, "Open."

Blinking, I stepped forward in amazement. "What is this place?"

"It's the school's café."

I jumped, totally forgetting that Green was behind me. "There's a café?"

He nodded. "It's run by the students of the culinary department." He paused before continuing hesitantly. "…Have you eaten lunch yet?"

"Um…no?" I offered, "But I'm not hungry!" I still was somewhat peeved about Green's standoffish manner during the opening ceremony, despite the time passed. Unfortunately, my stomach disagreed and let out a hungry "grr…"

I grimaced as Green rolled his eyes. "C'mon, I haven't eaten either." Before I could protest, he walked to the door and pulled it open, waiting for me. With no choice, I entered, but kept my tone cool as I said, "Thanks."

Even though he was behind me, I knew Green was rolling his eyes.

**-in the café-**

"Welcome to K.E.P.A café! May I take your order?"

After placing our orders (noodles for both of us), the waiter (a rather cute blond guy) left, though he gave me a quick wink as he left. At the same time, I thought Green's frown deepened slightly, but I honestly couldn't tell.

"So…"

I waited as Green continued glaring off to the side. His eyes flicked toward me with a "what?" expression.

I huffed. This guy…well, two could play at that game. By the time the food arrived, neither of us had said a word.

Quietly we snapped apart our chopsticks and started eating. I stared at Green over the rim of my bowl; he certainly ate a lot neater than most guys (i.e. Red and Gold). Furthermore, he seemed completely content, or at least unconcerned, that we were the only table in the whole restaurant that was dead silent.

"So…" I tried again, frustrated and annoyed by the awkwardness. Green looked up, this time his expression was bland, but less stern. I sighed. "I'm sorry you have to suffer this horrible meal with me, but we can leave as soon as we're done ok?"

Now Green actually looked startled. "What?" he asked in a low tone.

"It's pretty damn obvious I annoy the hell out of you," I said, fighting to keep my voice down; it seemed like whenever I was near this guy, I just ended up irritated. "Like when Silver was visiting and I almost got trampled by your fan girls, I saw that look on your face."

At the mention of that incident, Green's expression changed back into one of annoyance. I smiled bitterly in triumph. Then, "What's Silver to you?"

I blinked, caught off guard by the unexpected question. "W-What?"

"What's Silver to you?" he repeated. He stared rather seriously at me. Both of us had stopped eating.

"Why's it matter?" I cried out, but Green didn't say anything so I continued. "It honestly doesn't matter, but if it makes you happy, he's like my brother. My parents adopted him when he was really little so we grew up together. We're _this_ close!" I finished, intertwining my index and middle finger in emphasis.

"That's it?" Green's tone was suspicious, yet relieved?

I shook my head in confusion. "Yeah…why?"

"No reason," he answered turning back to his food. I did the same. "Hurry up and finish. I want to show you something after."

Now I was _really_ confused. One minute this guy was interrogating me like Officer Jenny on bad-cop mode, the next he was inviting me to see some surprise. But one look at Green told me I wasn't going to get any further information, so I shut up and finished my meal.

**-after lunch-**

"Where are we going now?"

Green ignored my question, continuing towards the direction of our dorms. At last he stopped in front of a tiny, but neat shed that I hadn't noticed previously.

"You have a problem with bird Pokemon don't you?"

"What?" I exclaimed loudly, "No, of course not!" Inwardly, I cringed as Green stared at me, disbelief clear in eyes.

Without a word, he pulled a pokeball off his belt. "Pidgeot, g-…"

"NO!" I yelled, jumping forward and pushing Green's arm down to his side. Keeping my head lowered, I felt myself tremble. "Please don't."

Green stepped back, gently freeing himself from my grasp. Thankfully, he dropped his arm from the pokeball. "Then it's true? You're afraid of bird Pokemon?"

"…How did you know?"

"That first time you saw my Pidgeot battling Scizor. And whenever there are battles with bird Pokemon, you always make an excuse to leave."

In the back of my mind I was a little startled that Green had noticed all these incidents, but more importantly, "Does anyone else know?"

He shook his head. "No, but you need to overcome that fear."

"What?! I-I can't!" I stammered. Just the thought of those claws…and those beady eyes…I shivered inadvertently.

I flinched as a light touch brushed my arm and looked up to meet Green's eyes which were surprisingly gentle. He sighed.

"Look, I'll help you ok?" Seeing him reach towards his pocket, I tensed, but he just pulled out a key. Walking over to the shed behind his, he unlocked the door and stepped in.

Curiously I followed and tried to peer inside. But Green came back in just a few seconds, causing me to skip back in surprise.

"Here," he said.

Reaching out, I gently took hold of the object he offered. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, I asked, "…What is it exactly?"

"It's an egg."

"An egg?" Turning it carefully, I could see that it really was an egg, a bright yellow with a ring of white around it that rose and fell in a gentle curve pattern. "What kind of Pokemon is it?"

For the first time in a while, I saw Green's lip curve upwards in a small smile. "That's for you to find out."

"Wait…you mean this egg is mine?" I asked. Green nodded. "I can't take this! Pokemon eggs are supposed to be really rare; only great breeders can actually have their pokemon produce successful Pokemon eggs."

Green stared at me silently, waiting for me to shut up. When I stopped, he said, "This egg was specifically produced for you. It was yours from the start."

"What do you mean specifically produced for me?"

"Gold bred the Pokemon required to make this egg; he's well known as a Pokemon breeder. That's why rare as they are, the Pokemon and eggs he breeds are some of the best."

Now I was really confused. "Why would Gold just randomly give me an egg?"

Green turned away. "…He did it as a request." Seeing my questioning look, he muttered reluctantly, "I asked him to."

"Why?"

This time Green turned back and looked me straight in the eye. Strangely, as our eyes locked, I found it hard to breathe suddenly. "Because…I know you've been having a hard time lately; that you've been struggling with this problem for a while…and this egg will be the first step in helping you heal."

"And you're not going to tell me what this egg will hatch into?" I asked. Again, he shook his head. "Well…well, thank you Green."

"Don't thank me," he answered roughly. "Just take care of the egg." It seemed like he had run out of words as he turned around and nodded before heading off abruptly.

I watched him go before smiling fondly down at the egg cradled in my arms. "That thank you wasn't just for you," I said to it, "…but maybe when you hatch, you'll be able to help me thank him."

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**A/N**: There you go my dear readers; oldrivalshipping-ness. Took some thinking and time to get this out, because I'm a little rusty from writing, but hopefully now that I've started again, the chapters will come faster and easier to write. Again, thanks to all my readers, whether you be new or the ones who stuck through and believed in me! Thanks guys. Please review!


	27. Visit Pt1

Hi reader people. So, I've tried to stick to my resolution to update more often and this chapter is up before 3 years have passed, so hopefully I'm doing better ? Anyways, just to warn you people, this chapter is longer than my usual ones but might be somewhat unexpected in content...you'll see when you read. As usual, thanks to all my lovely reviewers. Just an update, but time is still passing so Blue's been in school for about a month (it's October-ish) and in terms of the tournament, I will explain in future chapters. Again, thanks to my readers and reviewers! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: Still not mine (pokemon)

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**Yellow's P.O.V.**

"No way! I'm fine, seriously you guys. I just need a nap and I'll be good. See you later ok?" With that, Blue hurried away, leaving the rest of us stupefied.

"Huh…" Crys finally sighed, pursing her lips at Blue's retreating back. "She really needs to get over those nightmares of hers and move forward."

I nodded. Though I hadn't been present when Blue had told Crys and Sapph about her tragic past, she had allowed the two to fill me in. It felt good that Blue trusted and viewed me as a friend, but I was saddened by the nightmares that still haunted her.

"Yeah well, those things aren't that easy to shake off!" Sapph said, shaking her head.

Both Crys and I paused in surprise at Sapph's unexpected comment. As though she had realized she had said something unusual, Sapph immediately shot forward. "I see the Contest Hall, c'mon!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Was it just me…or did Sapph sound empathetic back there?" Crys asked with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah…and I've never seen her excited about anything related to contests," I said. "She seems a little off today…"

Crys heaved a heavy sigh before giving me a tired smile. "Well, at least you and me are still normal, huh?"

I laughed. "Maybe. But who knows what's going on in both of their minds right now?"

With a thoughtful expression at my comment, Crys nodded. "Oh well, let's catch up with Sapph; last one there is a rotten Exeggcute!"

"W-wait!" I yelped as Crys shot off, laughing.

**-in the Contest Hall-**

"Woah…" I murmured in amazement.

The contest hall was huge; it looked big enough to comfortably fit at least half a region's gyms, if not more. Bleachers stretched from the floor to the ceiling while the lighting shone bright-white and reflected off the pastel colored walls. And scattered throughout the place were people and their pokemon who were training for the upcoming tournament.

"First time here?" Crys giggled at my expression. "I was like that too; luckily I've been here a few times on business for Professor Oak."

Next to her, Sapph was glaring and muttering underneath her breath. I heard something like, "pansies" and "what a bunch of…" Crys noticed as well but simply rolled her eyes and smiled in amusement.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel the same way they were feeling. Just the size alone of the hall was intimidating, not to mention the trainers who were practicing. Seeing a vulpix nearby shoot a huge fire blast before leaping forward and slicing through it with an iron tail, causing the flames to disperse beautifully, I flinched. It wasn't just the heat of the flames, but the intensity of the contests that was causing me to wilt inside.

Taking out Chuchu's pokeball, I stared at her, questioning whether I really wanted to do this…the spotlight…the pressure…

Noticing my silence, I glimpsed Crys opening her mouth with a concerned expression. But before she could speak, someone else beat her.

"Hey Yellow!"

I jumped, "Red?"

Blinking in surprise, I saw that it really was Red who was approaching us, followed by Ruby and Gold. Red smiled at me warmly and greeted both Sapph and Crys before turning back to me.

"What's up Yellow? You're entering the Contests right?"

"Um…" I scuffed my shoe across the floor, trying to think of an appropriate response. "I'm not sure…"

"What?!" Gold cut in. Without me noticing he had sprung up behind Red and was pushing into the conversation. "Why not?"

Now I could feel the others peering over in curiosity and my face flushed. "Well, I've never competed in front of so many people for one thing," I finally said.

Gold scratched his head with a bemused expression. "So? It's easy; all you gotta do is walk up, do your thing, bow, and walk off! I could do it in a heartbeat; I don't see what's so hard about it."

"Well…"

But Gold continued, "After all, I've been doing all these public things for years. You're my older cousin shouldn't this be even easier for you?"

That stung. Clenching Chuchu's pokeball tightly and staring hard at the ground, I tried to resist the burning feeling behind my eyes, but when I sensed Red move forward, I turned and ran off, for fear the tears would start falling.

**Normal P.O.V.**

"What'd I say?"

Red punched Gold on the arm, "You idiot, I'll tell you later!" Then he ran after Yellow.

**Red's P.O.V.**

Looking for Yellow in the immense forest surrounding the Contest Hall certainly wasn't easy. For one thing, Yellow was small. For another, she was super quiet. I resisted the impulse to yell for her though; I figured that Yellow would probably run away if I started shouting for her.

"Pikachu!"

I smiled down at Pika. "Wanna help me find Yellow and Chuchu?" Pika nodded and sprang forward, ears twitching madly. Catching some noise, he shot off to my left and I followed.

Sitting with her back against a tree was Yellow with Chuchu in her lap. Giving a small, "Chu-!" Pika leapt towards Yellow. Though she was startled, Yellow still managed to catch him.

"Sorry 'bout that," I said, stepping quietly from where I had been watching the whole scene.

Yellow flinched, startled, but didn't move as Chuchu and Pika greeted one another beside her. "Ah…it's fine."

"It isn't fine, is it?" I said. Subtlety was never my strong suit (a trait that seemed to come from my dad as I had been told numerous times) and I figured this was one situation where beating around the bush wouldn't help.

She was silent for a bit, before answering softly, "…No." There was a pause in which I almost interrupted, but Yellow continued before I could speak. "It's complicated…"

"Is it about you and Gold?" Though I had known Gold had an older cousin at K.E.P.A., he had never really spoke of Yellow, and after knowing Yellow for some time now, I realized it was the same with her. Until now I had never thought about how distant the two were though they were cousins.

"Yes." Yellow tugged half-heartedly at a strand of grass, careful not to actually pull the tiny blade out. Nearby Pika and Chuchu were dashing around, glad to be in one another's company.

Seeing how Yellow's head bowed down, I felt an odd protectiveness stir inside. Reaching out, I placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up in surprise. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's difficult to explain the whole thing…I'm really not the best person to actually explain all of this, this thing between Gold and I," Yellow said. She looked sad. "My uncle would be the best one at that…I-I miss him a lot."

I grinned. "Well, that's a problem I think I can solve!" Yellow raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"W-wait, where are we going?" she yelped.

"To your uncle's!" I replied simply.

**-Outskirts of the Viridian Forest-**

"Dangit! Another magikarp!"

I paused in uncertainty and amusement as I watched the short, stout figure that was Yellow's uncle throw down his fishing pole in frustration. Meanwhile Yellow had run forward.

"Uncle!"

In shock the man turned. "Yellow!" In perfect synchronization he swooped Yellow up in a tight embrace. Gently he put her down. "What are you doing here little one?

"I missed you a lot uncle," Yellow answered. Patting her on the head, Yellow's uncle noticed me and gave me a wary, quizzical look; catching it, Yellow quickly spoke up.

"Uncle, this is my friend Red…he's the one who kindly brought me here."

"Red is it?" Yellow's uncle said. "Yellow's mentioned you." He stuck out his hand.

I took it and shook firmly. "Same. Yellow looks up to you a lot. When she told me she was missing you, I couldn't help finding a way to let her come."

This earned Yellow a look of confusion from her uncle. "Technically students aren't allowed to leave campus…but Red knows quite a few people around K.E.P.A. so he managed to get us a day pass."

"It was no trouble at all!" I spoke up hurriedly seeing how Yellow's uncle had started to panic. "Yellow's my friend and I want her to be happy."

Yellow's uncle sighed with a defeated, amused look. "Who am I to argue about having my beloved niece visit after being away for so long? Thank you then Mr. Red." He bowed stiffly.

"No, no! Just call me Red," I said, shaking away the formalities.

Now his expression was pure amusement. "Then you can call me Uncle Wilson. Anyways, the fish aren't quite biting (here Yellow giggled softly, drawing a fake-pained expression from her uncle) so let's call it a day. C'mon in for a cup of tea."

Following behind Uncle Wilson, I stopped as Yellow tugged gently on my sleeve. "Thank you again Red."

"No problem." I smiled at Yellow's obvious joy. Oddly enough, Yellow's face turned a light shade of pink and she hurried off to catch up with her uncle. "Huh…"

**-in Uncle Wilson's cabin-**

"Sit down, sit down! Sorry for the mess," Uncle Wilson said, shooing us forward with one arm while sweeping away the clutter around the simple home with the other.

After we had all been seated and served (with much assistance from Yellow), Uncle Wilson leaned back, sipping from his mug with a content sigh. Yellow smiled and placed a hand gently on her uncle's. "Uncle, I was actually hoping you could tell us about dad and mom."

"Hm?" Uncle Wilson peered over his mug with a surprised and somewhat suspicious face.

Once again Yellow was quick to pick up on his discomfort. "It's okay uncle…I-I want to hear about dad and mom. The whole story!" she said, then paused. "And I want Red to hear it too if that's alright uncle…"

It was easy to tell that Yellow meant the world to her uncle. At those simple words, his stern façade had melted and gave her a sad smile. "Alright, but where to begin…"

"Tell it the way you did when I was little please," Yellow suggested.

"You're still little now!" Uncle Wilson joked, but nodded. "Well, it all started when your father saw your mother for the first time…"

**Wilson's P.O.V.**

"Wilson!"

I turned from my rod, just as something on the other end tugged…hard. Without any further warning, my rod snapped.

"Gah! Martin look what you made me do! I just lost a fish and my best rod!" I yelled impatiently at the blonde-haired buffoon a.k.a. my dear younger brother.

He blinked twice. "Oh…sorry," he said, expression extremely apologetic. In about two seconds though, his face brightened. "I have something important to tell you brother!"

I sighed, turning away to try and fix my poor rod. "What now?"

"I've met the girl I'm going to marry!"

"What?!" I yelped, broken rod pieces falling from my fingertips.

Once again, Martin simply blinked. "I've met the girl I'm going to marry," he repeated.

Hearing it a second time honestly didn't help. "What do you mean you've met the girl you're going to marry? Who is she? How the heck did you meet her?! And over my dead body you're going to get married!"

"Um…I've seen her at the market for a while now and today I actually spoke to her! I didn't get a chance to ask for her name yet, but she came over and asked what I was drawing, and yes I _am_ going to marry her!"

Only years of patience from fishing and love for my brother kept me from hurling my broken rod at him and his naivety. "How do you plan on marrying her if you don't even know her name for Mew's sake?"

Martin smiled widely. "We arranged to meet tomorrow, same time, same place!"

"Then you have absolutely no idea who she is? Which part of stranger danger have I not taught you?!"

"She's not dangerous!" he retorted. "She's beautiful…and I managed to draw a picture of the symbol on her kinchaku*. See?"

I peered at the quick sketch on Martin's notebook. It looked like a long-fanged tiger type pokemon, surrounded by bolts of lightning, charging powerfully at the viewer. It also looked vaguely familiar.

"Give it back!" Martin demanded, tugging on the opposite end. I released the notebook, realizing I had been staring at it for quite some time. He tucked it away safely beneath his arm and headed towards our cabin.

"Hey, so you're going to the market tomorrow?" I called after him.

"Of course!"

I sighed. "Guess I'll be going to the market tomorrow too…" I muttered.

**-next day-**

"Oi! Watch where you're going!"

Somewhat childishly I stuck out my tongue at the bicycle-riding man's retreating back before turning back to my reason for this horrendous trip.

My brother and his "potential" fiancée to be exact.

"Now where did they go?" I scanned the area feeling like a magikarp out of water. It wasn't often I ventured out of town, usually Martin did that. But considering this new habit of picking up girls, I was seriously starting to reconsider allowing the little fool to come.

"Martin!"

I turned in time to see a petite lady running, well half-running, towards my brother. Even hiding in an alley across the street from them I could see his and her matching expressions, total happiness.

Ducking and weaving around more pedestrians and haphazard bicyclists, I managed to hide in a little stall not far from the pair.

"Hi Martin!"

At that simple greeting, my brother, infamous for blabbering at me for 3 hours straight when we were kids, simply blushed and ducked his head. I smacked myself; he'd fallen for her obviously…hard.

"I really wasn't sure you'd show up today," the girl continued. From this close I could see that she really was quite young, passable as either a young woman or a girl. She was dressed in a pink kimono with a yellow obi that startlingly contrasted her ink-black hair while matching her bright golden eyes. "I'm glad you did though!"

"Um…me too," my brother stuttered. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small, but elegantly wrapped package. "Here, this is for you."

I stoop on tip-toe trying to see over the mound of apples hiding me. While I couldn't see what the gift was, the smile that lit up the girl's face.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed. Holding it out and ducking her head she asked, "Help me please?"

Wordlessly Martin took the object and gently attached it to the elegant bun the girl's hair was in. When he stepped back I could finally see what it was: an elaborately painted comb.

"I'm sorry." I started at the shamed expression in my brother's tone. "I can't really afford anything expensive, so I hand-carved and painted it…"

"No, it's beautiful!" the girl repeated, adamantly shaking her head. "It's unique…just like you."

The gaze of affection between them was so mutual, so loving, so…well, sickening to me but beautiful to the rest of the world that I could only sigh, turn around and leave them. That is…

"Hey! Are you paying for that?!"

"Wha-?" I jumped. In both hands I held an apple from the pyramid of apples I'd been hiding behind. "Oh sorry, sure!"

Hurriedly I paid and left while the old apple seller lady muttered behind me, "Kids these days! Stealing, showing affection in public! Why in my days…"

I rolled my eyes. I might not be one-hundred percent in approval for my brother marrying some random girl, but I was definitely going to be more formal than this old biddy!

"I'm home!"

I waited for my brother to change from his outer foot-ware and into his slippers, listening to the muffled shuffling. Poking his head around the corner into the living room where I sat, Martin smiled at me.

"Good day at the market, huh?"

He nodded eagerly, "Yup!" He trotted over to the table and began pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Buy anything?" I asked casually.

"Wha-?!" The unexpected answer practically caused Martin to drop his cup. "Um…no?"

I stared at him scrutinizing. "Then what were you doing all day?"

"I was…er…I was…"

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "I saw you today."

"You what?!" Martin yelped. I winced at the high tone and repeated.

"I saw you today." Seeing him open his mouth in denial I pushed forward. "I saw you today…and I guess I approve."

Blinking in shock, Martin leaned forward. "You serious bro?"

"Do I look serious?" Martin bobbed his head up and down quickly. "Then I'm serious."

A huge grin erupted across his face. "Thanks! I promise I'll make you, mom, and dad proud. I'll treasure her forever."

I smiled a bit. "And does 'her' have a name?"

"Topaz," Martin replied, blushing.

"Any reason why you so desperately need to marry her? You haven't known her that long," I said lightly. My brother was (too me at least) still a kid; who knew how long this poocheyana love was going to last?

Yet, Martin's face became sober. "I can't tell you that. I promised Topaz, but I promise you brother that I really do love her and she loves me."

"Even though you've only known her for…?"

"Well, I've seen her going to market for a couple of months now. We both just didn't have the courage to speak to each other for a long time!" he answered defensively. With that, my brother exited the house, sketchbook in hand and mushy expression back on his face.

"Egad," I muttered. "Where in Mew's name is this going?"

**-next day-**

"Wilson I'm home!"

"Hmm?" I looked up from the rod I was repairing then started in shock. Standing beside Martin was his girlfriend...oh wait, I mean _fiancée_. Seeing the surprised expression upon my face she giggled, but then dipped into an elegant bow.

"Martin has told me all about you; it's wonderful to finally meet you. I'm Topaz," she offered graciously.

I ducked my head in response. "Wilson, Martin's older brother. Nice to meet you too. Come in."

As Martin ushered Topaz in, I couldn't help but notice how seamlessly they moved together. Whether it was Martin taking Topaz's jacket or Topaz mirroring my brother's steps, they practically moved as one. It was both amusing and startling how attached they were.

"Martin tells me that you lost your parents at an early age…I'm sorry," Topaz's voice broke through my musings.

I shook my head. "There's no need to apologize. I'm actually older than him by 10 years; our parents passed when he was six. Luckily, our father had taught me how to fish and our mother had taught me the other necessary skills by that point, plus they left us this home. So I've just been raising this squirt ever since."

"Hey!" Martin spoke up. Topaz smiled, reaching over to ruffle his blonde hair. I grinned too, albeit a little sadly. Our mother used to say we were like moon and sun; I was dark-haired and stocky whereas Martin was blonde and willowy. There was no real "reason" for the difference, I had inherited my looks from my parents, Martin however just looked like he was adopted.

"May I ask…how your parents passed?" Topaz asked delicately.

"Our mother got sick," I said simply. "It was a long-term illness though, that's why she had the time to teach me everything. Father died not long after…he wasn't very well after mother passed. Broken heart we think."

"Well, I promise I'll take good care of Martin," Topaz said earnestly. My brother took her hand, eliciting blushes from both of them.

"And you?" I asked, partially from curiosity and partially to stop their sappiness.

Strangely a guarded expression slid over Topaz's face, a startling change from the gentle smile that I had become accustomed to seeing. "My family…is complicated." Seeing my brother glaring at me as he patted her hand, I decided to change the subject.

"So, have you guys eaten…"

"Screech-!"

I stood up. "What was that?!" Hurrying towards the door, I saw Martin and Topaz follow. I pushed open the door and was met with an unexpected sight.

Parked in front of our home was an intimidating, pitch-black vehicle. The fact that the windows were tinted didn't help, until I saw the insignia stamped on the doors: the lightening fanged tiger. I opened my mouth in surprise.

Before I could say or do anything the front door opened and out popped a chauffeur. He quickly opened the rear door closest to us and out stepped a man followed by a young woman. He was dressed in a simple black suit, complete with a stern expression that radiated intimidation; she was dressed in a simple, but still pricey looking kimono. When she glanced up, I saw eyes that were golden and worried.

"Topaz! What are you doing here?" the man said. Though he wasn't shouting, even I could feel the anger in his voice.

"I was…"

He continued without letting Topaz speak. "You're always disobeying me young lady. Now get in the car." Suddenly his eyes shifted, noticing my younger brother who was still holding her hand. He sucked in his breath violently. "And who is _that_?"

"_I_ am Topaz's fiancée," my brother answered calmly. I was probably the only one who noticed his anxiety. As I was thinking this though, I saw Topaz squeeze his hand reassuringly.

"Yes father, this is Martin. And as he just told you…we are engaged."

Topaz's father's eyes practically bulged out of his head. "What?! How dare you-!" He made a violent motion towards her and I stepped forward immediately.

But Martin beat us both, stepping in front of Topaz and taking the blow intended for her from her own father's fist.

"Martin!" Topaz shrieked, rushing forward. My brother stood there, blinking more in astonishment than pain.

After checking that Martin was okay, Topaz looked up at her father, golden eyes steely with anger. "You had no right to do that father."

"I have every right. You are my daughter, you live in my house therefore I decide who you marry and where you stay!"

"You may be my father but you never cared about what I wanted," Topaz retorted. "You fed me, clothed me, sheltered me, yes; yet you don't wish for me to marry the man I love."

Her father snorted. "Love? You're too young to know what love is. As is he," he said, glaring at my brother.

"I know that it isn't what you plan for me or my sister." Here Topaz paused and looked at the woman who had stayed silent throughout this whole exchange. "Amber…"

But if she was hoping for some help from her sister, Topaz was in for disappointment. Amber turned away, face downcast and expression closed. Their father nodded approvingly.

"You see? Your sister is the perfect model of our family. And when she is married next week, she will be deserving of the Yoshinaga name."

"I don't want the name! I want to be happy father…money and a perfect life mean nothing to me if I am to be forced to live in a golden cage with someone I don't love," she said, voice growing desperate.

"And how do you know you won't love the man we find for you?"

A small smile graced Topaz's features. "Who is there to find? After all, I have already found him." The smile grew when Martin's hand intertwined with hers. Turning back she asked, "Well father? Do I have your blessing?"

Scarily, I could practically see Topaz's father turning purple with rage. "Never!" he spat out. "I leave you with this choice: either you return this moment with me, back to the house and promise to never leave it again, or I will disown you and we shall never speak again."

Topaz's expression saddened. "I believe you know my decision father. But I ask…why? Why is choosing prestige over love so important to you?"

"Our family's honor is most important; you are being selfish," her father said stiffly. "Well?"

Topaz was silent. I noticed Martin shift slightly as he watched her nervously. Looking back up, she caught his eye and smiled. "I'm staying father."

Her father glared coldly. "Then from this day on, you are no longer a daughter of mine." He turned. "Amber, we are leaving."

Topaz's sister moved slowly, glancing back sadly. Topaz let go of Martin's hand and rushed forward.

"No matter what he says, you are still my sister," she said, clasping Amber's hand. Quickly, she pulled out her kinchaku and retrieved something from within it, shoving it into her sister's hand.

Her sister blinked in surprise as Topaz curled her fingers around the object. Reaching up, Topaz kissed her sister on the cheek.

"Remember I love you, mom, and even dad," she said with a sad laugh. Gently, she nudged her sister toward the car. "Hurry, before he gets mad. I…I hope we will meet again."

The car door slammed and they were gone. Silently we watched the vehicle speed away. Without warning, Topaz burst into tears.

Immediately my brother hovered over her. "It's not too late; we can still chase down the car! Don't cry!"

"I'm not crying because I'm sad," Topaz said, giggling as tears streamed down her face. "I'm actually happy."

"Huh?" I couldn't help saying.

Topaz wiped her tears with the handkerchief Martin offered. "Thank you. My father and I have always disagreed on many things; we're both quite fiery-tempered. As you saw, my sister however is not. She and my mother are happy to accommodate to others…I worry about them."

Quietly, Martin put his arm around her and clasped her to him. She sighed and continued.

"But I know that I can't put my whole life on hold for Amber. I just hope that one day she'll be able to express her true self."

"Well put," I said, clapping my hands. "So…you decided yet?"

Martin and Topaz looked at me with matching confused expressions. I rolled my eyes.

"The wedding date…?"

Now they both started laughing. "We're getting married!" This time instead of shaking my head at their antics though, I joined them in their laughter.

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**A/N:** And yes, this is to be continued, meaning there is a part two. For those of you who hate flashbacks, I'm sorry but this chapter was necessary; helps explain Yellow and her past. I tried to keep Yellow and Red in-character, but don't know how that went! The next chapter will contain more Yellow (and Red!) so stay tuned. Finally, please review!


	28. Visit Pt2

Hey guys! So an update is here, not as long as the last chapter, but hopefully it is enjoyable (somewhat). It is **IMPORTANT **that you note that I've changed Yellow's uncle's name to Wilton (NOT Wilson) in this chapter; it's actually Wilton, but in the last chapter, I messed up as a reviewer pointed out kindly. (I think my computer was doing spell checking -.-) But randomly, I love Martin and Topaz too, haha. And yes, Gold's mother is kind of weak in that last chapter, but who knows about the future right? Anyways, I hope you like this chapter and please review!

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon still isn't mine...sad right?

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**Red's P.O.V.**

"The wedding was…beautiful."

At this point, Uncle Wilton's voice seemed to give out. Yellow, sensing his emotions, took his hand and smiled gently. He took a deep, shuddering breath and continued.

"Not long after, you were born," he said, smiling back at Yellow. "The joy of both your parents' and my lives."

**Wilton's P.O.V.**

"Momma! Poppa!" squealed Yellow, bouncing up and down excitedly. I glanced up from the rod I was baiting.

"Yellow!" Topaz swooped down and grabbed Yellow into a fierce embrace. Martin stood by, watching them with a fond smile.

I stood up, stretching my stiff muscles. "How was the market?" I asked.

Martin turned. "Oh, nothing much was there." I raised my eyebrows skeptically.

"And you spent two whole hours there?" Both Martin and Topaz looked guilty as I sighed in mock-exasperation. "Yellow's nearly four and you two are still in this honeymoon stage."

Topaz giggled. "Well…actually today _is_ our anniversary!"

"Oh…" I gulped. "Sorry, I forgot?" Now it was Martin who was mock-sighing.

"Geez…what kind of brother are you?" he asked.

I stuck out my tongue. "Hey now, I've been raising you since you were practically just a baby and now I take care of Yellow too!"

"Aw, you really mind brother?" Topaz cried, though I could see a glint of humor in her golden eyes.

"You two are just lucky she's cute," I replied stoutly. I couldn't resist ruffling a hand through my little niece's hair as she giggled softly.

"So true," Martin smiled. "Which is why you won't mind taking care of her for the rest of the day right?"

"Sure," I said. Then it hit me. "Wait…why?"

"We want to take the fishing boat out for a little bit, is that okay brother?" Topaz asked. Again, she used her big Poocheyana eyes on me, specially emphasized by her unique eye color.

"Fine, fine," I huffed. "Just be careful okay?"

"We will!" they chorused. Accomplishing their "mission" they finished fussing over Yellow before waving cheerily at us and heading towards the boat. I glanced at the sky, cloudless and clear, and smiled.

**-time skip-**

"Clouds! Clouds!"

"Hm?" Once again I was working, this time on some fishing nets, when Yellow's small voice broke me out of my revere.

Her tiny form jumped up and down, pointing eagerly at the sky. Startled I dropped the nets. Huge, ominously grey clouds were rolling in from the horizon and I felt a chilly breeze pick up. Grabbing the spare blanket I kept in the shed, I bundled Yellow up and dashed to the cliffs overlooking the water.

"When did this happen…?" I stared in disbelief at the choppy waves crashing against the cliff, keeping a tight hold on Yellow.

"Poppa! Momma!"

Startled, I looked in the direction Yellow was pointing at. A tiny speck of a boat bobbed up and down, tossed by the waves. I recognized the yellow flag perched on its bow.

"Martin! Topaz!" I ran down the slope, slipping and sliding towards the beach, but never losing my grip on Yellow. From there I could see slightly more clearly the outline of the boat.

I scanned the shore frantically for any bit of help or equipment I could use to pull them in, but the beach was completely deserted. Yellow stretched her little arms towards the boat, a tiny frown forming on her features.

"Momma…Poppa…"

Suddenly a loud clap of thunder followed by a flash of lightning struck through the darkening sky. Yellow shrieked and burrowed her head in my shoulder. I squinted as I saw waves churning faster near the boat.

"No…no!" I shouted. I scrambled through the sand and into the waves, only stopping when I remembered the precious bundle in my arms. I had to keep Yellow safe!

"Gyaaa-!"

Instinctively I pulled myself out of the water and onto the sand as a loud cry shattered the dark silence of the beach. I could see a large bulge of water rising up and before I could even blink, something shattered the surface.

"Gyaaa-!" Above surface the roar was even more ear-splitting and I flinched as Yellow began crying at the noise. I stared in shock at the form that had emerged from the water.

Huge…powerful…frightening…in other words, looking at this pokemon (was it even a pokemon?) was the equivalent of looking at a god. At the very least I was certain I was looking at a legendary.

The enormous blue and white pokemon flapped its wings and opened its mouth, letting out another cry. "Gyaaa-!" Without warning, it shot upwards in an indefinable speed, stopping so high I could barely make out its form any more.

"Lu-!" The pokemon reared back its head and in a quick series of movements, shot vortexes of wind down into the water. I gasped as one hit next to the boat, causing a huge wave to envelop it.

"Martin! Topaz!" I set Yellow down and rushed into the waves, heedless of whatever would happen to me.

Before I could do anything however, my worst nightmare happened. One of the blasts struck the boat dead on and I was forced to look away at the force of the impact.

"Ah-!" I threw up my arms in defense. When my vision cleared, all that remained were bits of wood floating on the still churning waves. "No…" I gasped, mouth suddenly dry despite the moisture around me.

I looked frantically in the sky for the monster that had just destroyed my brother and sister-in-law, only to find it empty. "What…?" Impulsively I turned back to the beach where Yellow was and felt my heart drop.

Speeding dead on at Yellow was the monster pokemon, wings folded towards its sides, adding to its speed. Even knowing it was impossible to stop the pokemon, I splashed through the waves in a frantic attempt.

"Stop! Stop!" I yelled.

Time seemed to slow as I saw the pokemon open its mouth, once again to fire its devastating attack. I could see Yellow's face so clearly, it was as if she were being magnified in my vision. She was smiling with her eyes closed and hands raised, as if she were ready to embrace this incoming destroyer.

"Yellow…" I gasped, just as I slipped in the sand and went crashing down. A louder sound echoed as something bright filled my vision. Without warning, I blacked out.

**-time skip-**

"Uncle, uncle!"

I squinted blearily, closing my eyes tightly at the light that burned them entered. Feeling something shake me gently, I forced my eyes open.

"Yellow!" I sat up and grabbed her in a tight hug, despite the pain that shot through my body.

"Uncle…" She hugged back just as tightly, small arms a comfort to me. I looked over the top of her head and realized that it was mid-morning. Around us, the beach was just as empty as before, but both sky and sea were now clear and calm. Floating on the gentle waves was a scrap of yellow fabric.

Pulling away I looked Yellow in the eye, feeling a sharp twang of pain at the resemblance of her eyes to Topaz's. "Yellow," I said slowly, "Do you know what happened?"

Just as slowly, Yellow shook her head. A look of perplexity filled her features and I sighed.

"It's ok." I stood and waited for my legs to stop trembling. "Let's…let's go home." Yellow blinked up at me, before offering her small hand to me. I shut my eyes, remembering how Martin had done the same so many times as a little kid, forcing the tears down and pain to still, before taking Yellow's hand.

I would raise her just as Martin and Topaz would…_for_ Martin and Topaz.

**Red's P.O.V.**

"And that's how I came to become Yellow's guardian," Uncle Wilton finished. The room was silent as Yellow dabbed at the tears in the corner of her eyes. I reached over and patted her hand, resulting in a grateful smile.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

"Ah, is it three already?" Yellow gasped. She stood up and began to clear the cups. "Red and I must be getting back to school."

I stood to help but Yellow shook her head and I noticed Uncle Wilton gesture for me to remain seated. Yellow took the mugs to the kitchen sink and began washing, the sound of the tap overcoming the quiet from before.

"I…admire you a lot Uncle Wilton," I said. "The courage you displayed, as well as the courage of both your brother and Yellow's mother."

He smiled. "Me? No. My brother and sister-in-law however…" Here he paused, glancing at Yellow. "She's like both of them you know. She has her mother's eyes and her father's hair, her mother's love of all life and her father's ability to draw…"

I nodded. All those things were central to Yellow.

"And she's courageous like them." Again he paused, looking almost scrutinizing at me, as though testing to see if I would deny the claim. When I didn't he nodded, "Even though she's only a wee mite and so gentle she wouldn't hurt a caterpie, I know she has the strength inside her."

"And the heart," I blurted out. Uncle Wilton looked sharply at me, causing me to redden. "Er…I mean that her ability to see the best in others and believe and encourage them…it's something I admire about her too."

Uncle Wilton smiled, but it wasn't condescending. He nodded almost absent-mindedly. "Yes. She'll go far, mark my words." Again, a calculative squint, "You'll follow her?"

"W-wha?!" I sputtered, glad I wasn't drinking tea at the moment, for fear I would have spat it out in shock.

"Watch over her and protect her for me please? I'm getting old and I can't always be around to watch over her you know."

Glancing over at Yellow who was humming softly as she rinsed the cups, I felt a smile tug at the corner of my mouth. Remembering Uncle Wilton's question and noticing that he was still watching me carefully, I grinned sheepishly.

"Good," he grunted. His dark eyes twinkled in amusement. "I'm actually joking lad. But I'm glad Yellow's found a good friend like you." Standing up, he clapped me on the shoulder and went to Yellow.

"All done Uncle!" she said, carefully putting away the final cup. She hugged her uncle around the waist for a long moment before pulling away slowly. He walked us to the door where they embraced once again.

I stepped outside to give them a minute, pulling out Aero's pokeball and rolling it around my hand. "Red!" I looked up to see Yellow standing next to me.

"I'm ready to go," Yellow exclaimed. She turned back to wave at her uncle.

"Have a safe trip! Call me when you arrive Yellow! And Red?" I turned in surprise, "Remember what I said. See you soon both of you!"

Yellow cocked her head curiously. "What did he say?"

"Er…I'll tell you some other time," I said, step-siding the question as I released Aero. Helping Yellow on carefully, I climbed up behind her. Noticing Uncle Wilton still watching, I made sure not to hold Yellow too tightly around the waist. "Let's go Aero!"

With a squawk, Aero flew upwards, inadvertently causing Yellow to yelp in surprise, and grab my arms in an attempt to stay on. I chuckled quietly, glad for this tiny private moment between me and Yellow.

We were quiet for a majority of the ride; I was going over everything I had just heard and I assumed Yellow was doing the same.

"Red?" Yellow's voice asked, breaking the silence.

"Hm?"

"I was thinking about what Uncle Wilton just told us…the part about the pokemon at the end. He's actually never told me that part before."

Surprised, I kept quiet, letting her continue.

"I don't actually remember much of what happened and yet…" she hesitated, "…and yet I feel like I might have had something to do with that pokemon."

"That huge pokemon your uncle described?"

Yellow nodded. "I think I might have actually been the one to stop it." A long pause stretched between us. "I know it sounds unbelievable…" Yellow said voice slightly incredulous.

I shook my head. "No, it's not that I don't believe you. It's just…why do you think that?"

Yellow sighed. "It's difficult for me to explain. I'll tell you when we land?"

"Sure."

Once again we fell into a comfortable silence until we arrived back at school

"Rooo!"

Aero stretched his wings as Yellow and I slipped off his back. I enlarged his pokeball, about to recall him when Yellow placed a hand on my arm. I turned questioningly toward her.

"You asked what I meant on the ride back. It's easier to show than it is to explain." Without further ado, Yellow stepped up to Aero's right side and placed both hands on the joint that connected his wing to his body.

Both Aero and I cocked our heads in curious confusion. In a short time however, I noticed a gentle glow emitting from Yellow's palms. Her eyes had closed as had Aero's.

"Wha-?" I said in disbelief. Before I could react further, Yellow and Aero's eyes had opened and she had lowered her hands.

She smiled and patted Aero. "Better now?"

"Aero-!" he squawked happily, flapping his wings up and down. It was then that I noticed how fluidly they moved.

"Did you just…?"

Yellow giggled. "Are you going to finish any of those sentences?" Seeing my mock-upset face she laughed again. "But yes, I just healed Aero. It's something that I can do."

"You learned this?"

She shook her head. "No, I was born with this power. When we were riding over, I could sense that Aero had something bothering him on his right side, so I healed it just now."

"Wow," I whistled. "That problem is actually an old battle scar from Green's Charizard Aero received years ago. None of the Nurse Joys we ever came across could figure out how to heal it completely."

Yellow blushed and shrugged. "It's nothing special…" she murmured modestly.

Sensing her discomfort with the subject, I asked a different question. "Then have you ever met anyone else with that power?"

"No…" Yellow shook her head slowly. "Uncle knows about my healing abilities and he thinks they may have something to do with the Viridian Forest."

"Hm…I could ask around for you," I said.

Yellow brightened. "Really? I've never met anyone like me; it would be nice to find someone with similar powers."

I smiled then asked, "And you were thinking your ability had something in connection to the mystery pokemon from your uncle's story?"

"I dunno…" Yellow ducked her head. "It was a silly thought…there's no possible way that I could have halted such a powerful pokemon."

"Don't doubt yourself," I said seriously, causing Yellow's eyes to snap up and meet mine. "After all, you've healed Aero's old wound perfectly."

Again, Yellow's cheeks darkened into a cute blush. "It was nothing special. But I'm surprised it happened so quickly."

"Why's that?"

"Normally it takes me some time to heal pokemon I'm unfamiliar with. I heal my own team the best, but for all other pokemon, it takes a little more time."

I nodded. "Maybe it's because you're getting stronger."

Yellow shook her head skeptically. I smiled.

"Or maybe it's because you're becoming more familiar with me," I said in a teasing tone. The bright pink blush darkened on Yellow's face as she turned away.

"Ah…I don't know!" she yelped, holding up her hands to cover her face.

I chuckled, bringing my hands up to pull hers down. Yellow continued to look down. "I'm joking Yellow. But thanks."

Now she looked up with a confused look on her gentle features. "For what?"

"For healing Aero," I said. Impulsively I pulled her into a quick hug. For a moment she tensed, but then relaxed just as quickly.

We stayed there for a moment before I released her. Yellow didn't meet my eyes for a moment, turning away hurriedly. "I…I should go," she stammered. I watched, feeling a twinge of disappointment.

Suddenly Yellow glanced back and offered me a small smile. "You're welcome by the way Red. And thank you again for today."

Watching her petite figure walk away, I smiled. Aero glanced at Yellow departed and nudged me against the shoulder. I rubbed his forehead, causing him to squawk gently.

"Yeah…I like her a lot too Aero."

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**A/N**: Specialshipping yes? Although it was horrible having to write Yellow's past... And we'll see how Yellow's power develops as well as how her and Red's relationship develops! Meanwhile, please tell me what you thought, review!


	29. Contest Prep!

Hello readers; so I've decided it's definitely time for another update! Just wanted to add in some quick notes before the chapter; thanks to **sora-chan **for pointing out my mistake on chapter 19 about Red's parents. Hm...just disregard it? Haha, I'm sorry people; if you ever catch mistakes like that, please inform me. I'll probably make a few here and there, especially since I haven't written in a while. In terms of time, it's still October-Novemberish in the story (also disregard Ch.26 in terms of the references to Christmas; pretend they're just regular gifts...) In terms of chapters/how long will this story go: Not really sure? I have the plot in mind, but in terms of how long it will take to get it all out, I don't have an exact number. I hope you guys will stick with me to the end! With that, please read, enjoy, and review! And thanks to all the nice people who did review!

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon=not mine

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**Sapphire's P.O.V**

"…And that shall be all! You are dismissed!"

I jumped as I felt a sharp elbow dig into my ribs while a voice hissed, "Sapphire, wake up! He's done."

I rubbed my eyes and yawned blearily, then perked up. "Really? That took forevvvvver…"

Next to me, Winona chuckled sympathetically before standing and walking towards the exit. I quickly followed. "Actually I must admit, I'm a little surprised."

"About what?"

"You actually joining the Pokemon Contest competition." Winona glanced down at me curiously. "After all, I've known you since you were in middle school and all I've ever heard you talk about are battles, battles and more battles!"

I shrugged. "Can't I try something new for a change?"

Winona's smile widened and she said half-mockingly. "Maybe…but it isn't likely. So what's the real reason?"

I looked up at my mentor and met her eyes, regarding me seriously. "Well…" I tensed when I felt something (or more specifically _someone_) with a familiar tread walk by.

Talking excitedly to a man with mint green hair and a cape, Ruby didn't seem to realize he had almost run into me. I fumed, about to say something sharp, when I noticed him glance back, his mouth turned slightly upwards at the corner. I felt my pace slow while I looked away quickly.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?" I shook my head as Winona shook my shoulder with a worried expression. She cocked her head questioningly.

"You just stopped suddenly. And your face is all red…wait." Whipping her head around, she followed my line of vision and then turned back to the traitorous frozen expression on my face. Her puzzled frown changed into an expression of delight.

"Is what I think happening, happening?"

I quickly scowled at her. "And what would that be exactly?"

"You actually like a boy!"

My scowl deepened. "You've got it all wrong; that guy's my competition!"

Winona rolled her eyes. "And what about the rest of the people in this room? What are they? Chopped liver?"

"No…they're just…annoying." Scanning the room in which the meeting for the Contest completion rules was just announced, I glared at the clusters of over-dressed, over-made up, over-perfumed girly girls.  
"Ah! Then that boy is annoying and…" Winona's grin widened devilishly. "Cute perhaps?"

"What?! No!" I sputtered indignantly. Winona just nodded in a disbelieving way while she steered us out of the room. Too late I noticed we were following Ruby and the cape man.

"You certainly know how to pick them Sapphire. That's Norman's son isn't he?" Suddenly, Winona paused. "What's he doing with…" Now it was she who stopped completely.

"Winona? Winona?" I shook her shoulder, but it was as though an Ice Beam had hit Winona. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ruby and the man turn.

I was still trying to snap Winona out of her revere when a new voice spoke up. "Winona!"

Under my hand, I felt Winona tense and in the blink of an eye, she had fled, her long mane of hair flowing behind her gracefully. I turned my head to see the cape man standing beside me with a frustrated grimace on his face.

"Winona…" With that, he took off in long strides, following my mentor.

"What was that about?"

Inadvertently, I stiffened and had to force myself to relax before acknowledging Ruby. "You tell me. Who was that guy?"

Ruby looked at me like I was insane. "You don't know Wallace? He's a Contest Master! He's one of the best Coordinators in all the regions; the only one better than him is probably Juan. Furthermore, he's my mentor." His brow furrowed. "But I don't know why he seemed so anxious about that woman."

Now I was giving Ruby the look. "That's Winona. She's one of the best trainers and battlers here or anywhere! And she's _my_ mentor!"

"But why would they both be reacting so strangely toward one another?" Ruby mused. "It's odd…"

"Just 'cause Winona was avoiding him? I don't see how that's weird!" I countered. He had no right to be calling my mentor names!

Ruby rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying they're weird. I'm just saying that their reactions were…they acted like they knew each other. And that Winona was avoiding Wallace." He rubbed the back of his neck in confusion. "But why?"

"Maybe…maybe she likes him?" As soon as I said that, I wanted to smack myself. What a dumb comment!

"She likes him so she's avoiding him?" Ruby asked in a puzzled tone. "How does that even make sense?"

"I dunno!" I flared up angrily. "It's hard to explain."

"You've felt like this before? Avoiding someone because you like them?" His tone was curious, but there seemed to be an edge of…resentment? But when I looked at him, he was looking away.

I shook my head furiously. "No! I'm just saying…there's a possibility of that! Anyways, why are you following me?" Now that I actually took the time to look around, I realized we were in the clearing.

Raising an eyebrow, Ruby shrugged. "Well, technically it is time for you to be tutored." Seeing me open my mouth to protest, he continued. "But I'm amazed. You've actually way ahead of the schedule I had planned for all these sessions."

"So?" I couldn't hide the hint of pride I felt at his words though; but I would never admit that these sessions forced me to focus for a certain amount of time on the schoolwork that I usually tried to hurry through.

"So I was thinking we could work on something besides schoolwork today." Ruby grinned. "Something Contest related to be specific."

Now I was really annoyed; first he was being nosy about my mentor and my personal lives and now he was about to force me to do his stupid Contest activities. "And what would that mean exactly?" I ground out.

Rustling through his backpack, Ruby pulled out a few items. "Grooming," he answered triumphantly. In his hands, I could see an array of combs, brushes, ribbons, etc.

I gagged. "Are you kidding me?! My pokemon know how to groom themselves; it's part of their natural instincts!"

"I know that." I paused in shock. "Even though pokemon are perfectly capable of grooming themselves, the point is really less about their hygienic state and more about the effects grooming has on their happiness level." Ruby smirked. "And it doesn't hurt that it also boosts your pokemon's appeal during Contests."

I fumed again at his reference to the stupid Contests, but before I could say a thing, Ruby grabbed my wrist and pulled me down onto the soft grass. "Sit." Too surprised from the sudden contact, I didn't protest.

"And here." With his other hand, Ruby pressed a comb into my hand.

"…What do you want me to do exactly?" I said slowly. He still hadn't retracted his hand from around my wrist.

"Call out your pokemon," Ruby said, then paused. "Well, in your case since they're already out just call them I guess."

I took a deep breath and swallowed. "You have to let go of my hand first…"

"Wha-? Oh, sh-! Sorry!" Ruby jumped a few steps back away from me, his hand spread wide and eyes round with shock. Meanwhile, I could still feel a ring of warmth around my wrist were his fingers had just encircled it seconds ago.

"Uh-huh," I huffed as nonchalantly as possible. "All of them?"

"Just two I guess." I glanced at Ruby from the corner of my eye, but he had his back turned to me.

I sighed loudly. "Pilo, Toro!" Within seconds I could hear my pokemon crying out in their rush over. Still, the faint stillness between Ruby and I was noticeable and I resisted the urge to move away from him.

"Blaze!" "Troop-!"

Both Pilo and Toro emerged from the forest, breaking into my thoughts by physically nudging me, asking to be petted. I obliged and greeted them as I usually did, though my hands were pretty full. Toro and Pilo had a streak of competitiveness that ranged from who could eat the most food in one sitting to who got the most battle wins. They were now fighting for my sole attention.

"So these are your pokemon huh?"

I flinched, not realizing how close Ruby had gotten to me. Turning around, I smacked him on the head. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Ruby rubbed his head. "I didn't! It's just that my shoes are soft-soled, geez," he said wincing. "Anyways, I've met your Tropius before but this is…?"

"Toro is my starter pokemon and my dad gave me Pilo a while back, before I came to school," I answered, gesturing respectively to each. Ruby nodded and they cried out in response. Surprisingly, Pilo turned to Ruby, looking for some attention. He probably remembered him from last time.

While patting Pilo, Ruby said, "Well, no time like the present. Pick out a brush and let's start."

Warily I picked out a brush from the massive amount spread before me and moved toward Pilo's mane.

"Stop!" I dropped the brush, while Toro's wrists flared up momentarily at Ruby's shout.

"What?!" I snapped. Both Pilo and I glared at Ruby. Meanwhile, Pilo was sniffing the dropped brush with interest.

"You can't use that type of brush on a Combusken! Can't you see how the bristles are superfine and short? This type of brush is suited for pokemon like Toro." Ruby bent down and grabbed another brush. "Here; this type is better."

Still scowling at Ruby, I nonetheless took the thing and started brushing Toro. It wasn't long before I noticed she was wincing and edging back, though she tried not to show it.

"You're doing it too quickly," Ruby commented. He was brushing Pilo who, in comparison to Toro, looked completely content.

"Well, why don't you do it then!"

"Because you'll never learn that way," he sighed. Ruby reached over and grabbed the brush I was holding, placing it on the ground. "Come over here."

I did so reluctantly.

"Closer." I took a suspicious step. "Closer. Latios, it's not like I'm going to bite you!" I huffed loudly and closed the distance between us.

"Here." Again, Ruby pressed a brush into my hand, motioning for me to groom Pilo. I tried, but like Toro, Pilo pulled back and bobbed his head in agitation.

"You're doing it wrong." Before I could respond, Ruby moved behind me, placing his hand on top of my hand which held the brush. Moving both my hand and the brush, Ruby's hand was directing the brush in long sweeping strokes. "See? It's easy."

I stayed quiet and bit my lip. Part of me wanted to push Ruby away and demand him to back off. But another part of me…was feeling a little thrill of excitement. Even though I didn't look, from the warmth radiating close behind me I could tell that Ruby was extremely close to me; not to mention the feel of his hand on top of mine.

I stared quietly at the brush in front of me, trying to think of something to say. "Um…so what the heck are we supposed to do for the competition again?"

"You mean you didn't hear what the coordination said at the meeting?" I nodded and Ruby sighed, though I thought there was a hint of amusement in it. I shivered at the gentle breath on my neck but Ruby didn't seem to notice.

"Well this year they're breaking it into three parts. The first part is basically an examination of your pokemon, their appearance and condition mainly. The second round is going to be a mystery contest where we'll be demonstrating moves. And the third round…" Here Ruby paused and his tone became slightly agitated. "The third round is a battle."

"Really?!" I said in shock. "Didn't you say that these contest things have nothing to do with battles?"

The brush stilled for a moment, but with a sigh, Ruby resumed. "Yes. I've never actually been in a contest where the contestants have had to battle. But they said that they're changing the rules, starting this year. Just my luck…"

"I think it's better; it'll add more excitement to your contests." I smiled at the thought of more battles, both in the battle tournament and now in the contests.

"There are more things in life than battling," Ruby muttered softly.

I craned my neck slightly to meet his eyes. "Such as?"

"Why do you battle?" Ruby's eyes bore into mine, surprising me by both his questions and the intensity of his gaze. "Is it just because you like it?"

I turned my head quickly, avoiding his scrutinizing look. "No, it's not just because I like it. I…need to get stronger."

Ruby's hand stopped and I heard a sharp intake of breath. I turned cautiously but this time Ruby's eyes weren't staring at me; instead, he was gazing elsewhere. While I could see the direction he was looking toward, his expression was closed and his eyes had dimmed.

"Ruby? Ruby!" I half-shouted. The lack of reaction was...kind of scary.

"Huh?" He twitched and looked at me, though his expression was still vacant. "Wha-?" As though he just noticed, Ruby dropped my arm like it was on fire and backed away. "Sorry about that."

His reaction startled me and I could feel my face heat up. "Whatever," I mumbled. It was weird how he hadn't seemed to realize how close we were until I said that last line though…

The sound of a zipper pulled me out of my thoughts and I saw that Ruby was packing up his gear. Noticing me staring, Ruby gave me an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I just realized that I have to go. Got a lot of stuff to do," he said. Pulling the straps onto his shoulders he nodded to both Toro and Pilo who cried out in return. Then he turned back to me, waiting.

I didn't know what to say; one minute this guy had his hand on top of mine, standing barely a foot away from me, and the next minute he was leaving like nothing happened?

"Look…" Ruby started. He hesitated when he saw me stare at him, waiting for his explanation. "I'm really sorry…" My stare slid into a glare and Ruby grimaced. "It's complicated; but long story short, you're not the only one wanting to get stronger."

My glare fell away, replaced by confusion. What was he talking about? "What…" I started.

"I gotta go, see ya," Ruby said quickly. He started to walk away down our now well-trodden path.

"Wait!"

Ruby turned and cocked his head in question. I swallowed, feeling unusually flustered. This confusion _really_ needed to stop.

"You forgot this…" I said lamely, holding out the comb.

Surprisingly Ruby chuckled. "Keep it. You'll need to practice a lot more, wild girl." His grin widened. "It's a good thing your dad gave you those two specific pokemon; they were probably meant to balance out your unruliness."

"Why you-!"

Before I could do anything (like throw the brush at his head), Ruby had already taken off, leaving a faint cloud of dust from his soft-soled sneakers. I fumed silently, but inwardly I was glad that he seemed better than before.

"Trooop?"

"Not a word out of you mister," I said sternly, moving back to Pilo and grooming him briskly. "I don't care if daddy picked you and Toro for me 'cause of your natures, but it's definitely _not_ because I'm wild! Not like what that guy said…"

Toro and Pilo exchanged an amused look and I glared at them, deliberately pulling a small leaf from Pilo's coat. He winced and nudged me so that I fell on the floor.

"Very funny guys," I ground out as Toro smiled and Pilo smirked. "Now will you behave so I can hurry and finish?"

Pilo nodded and stood still while Toro settled down next to a tree. I picked up the brush and began to groom Pilo again in long strokes, just like Ruby had done. Thinking about his hand on mine made me smile slightly. Pilo nudged me again, with a smirk.

Without breaking stride, I clipped another leaf, causing him to wince. "Tropius-!"

"You deserved that mister." For the remainder of the afternoon, I practiced grooming both pokemon, but I was careful to keep my thoughts to myself. Who knew that pokemon were such gossips?

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**A/N: **Franticshipping; haven't written it in a while! I actually wanted to make this chapter longer, but I ran out of time. I have less time to update now, but I figured you would prefer this chapter than having to wait yet another week for a longer chapter. Well actually...would you guys prefer **a**.**)** more frequent updates, shorter chapters or **b**.**)** longer chapters, but less frequent updates? Please let me know in you review...so review!


	30. Shopping Trips & Parfait Specials

Hi people. The next chapter is here and it is (hopefully to you) a long one. Based on your reviews, it seemed like longer chapters were the winner; I count a "short" chapter to be about the length of the last chapter. Besides that, I will be clarifying some final details on Red in the next chapter I think, due to confusion on his past (my fault, sorry guys!). Also on the topic of Pokemon's names, I just choose the names that seem to fit/sound better to me, I'm sorry if it bothers you guys. If it does, just tell me and I'll try to fix it. Hmm...that seems to be it. Thank you to all the wonderful reviewers for your reviews and enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer**: Pokemon isn't mine...I just have random OCs.

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**Crystal's P.O.V.**

"Let's see…I need to remind Mr. Earl to check on the shipment of spring uniforms…the company hasn't been in contact recently…"

"Watchu up to?"

"Eep-!" I skid back in shock as Gold's lanky form leaned over my desk. Within a second, I had composed myself and proceeded to thwack him with my planner.

"Ow! Jeez super-serious gal, relax!" Gold cried out, holding his arms over his head and ducking.

With one last hit, I settled my planner back to my desk. I scribbled down another memo and said, "What do you want Gold?"

Gold sat down on the edge of my desk, ignoring the glare I directed toward him. "What? Can't I come over and see what you're doing?"

I raised an eyebrow delicately. "Well, considering how Professor Oak's cut back on the tutoring time to twice a week and seeing how it's after school (meaning you normally would be out the door as soon as the bell's rung); I'm surprised you're still here."

Gold rolled his eyes, but grinned. "Glad you notice my leaving routine!" I blushed, about to retort, but he continued. "But today I wanted to see what the heck _you're_ doing."

"I have a million things to do," I immediately said. "None of which concern you."

"Really?" Before I could react, Gold swiped my planner off the desk, dancing out of my reach whilst flipping through said planner. "Lab work, tutoring, day-care, lab work…dude, don't you ever have time for yourself?"

"Of course I do!" I snatched back the planner and shoved it into my bag furiously.

Gold cocked a brow. "When?"

Zipping up my bag, I considered. "When I'm done with all my work obviously."

"Which in your case is what? Never?"

Frowning, I picked up my bag and began walking away. Annoyingly, Gold followed, whistling. As we neared the school's exit, he glanced at me.

"At least you're competing in the Contest competition."

I nodded. "Yes, but I don't understand why any of my business or my schedule is any concern of yours."

Gold shrugged. "Just curious." A glint sparked in his eye and his now-familiar mischievous smirk stretched across his face. "Can't wait to see you in a dress though!"

"What are you talking about?" I frowned, crinkling my forehead in confusion. "What dress?"

Now Gold looked bemused. "For the Contest…?"

Pulling out the form from my bag, I scanned it quickly. My frown deepened. "There's nothing about wearing a dress on this! Are you lying?"

"No!" Gold chuckled. "It's pretty much an unstated rule I guess. Ruby's always going on about Contests and all, so I should know. He didn't take my suggestion to wear a dress so well though…I tell you, even though his Pokemon don't battle, his Delcatty still has a freakin' strong Iron Tail…"

Gold rubbed his arm absentmindedly as I had a mini panic attack. "No one told me this before! Where am I going to get a dress in time? The first contest is in two days! And I don't even like dresses!"

"You wear a skirt all the time." The expression and tone on Gold's face was mocking.

I glared. "It's because it's part of the uniform; and because I have shorts under it. What am I going to do?!"

"Just go buy one."

"I don't have the time! Or any way to get there," I admitted. Being in K.E.P.A. was nice, but we were certainly secluded from any type of shopping district. Adding to this was my initial disinterest in shopping regardless.

Gold shook his head. "You have time; I know 'cause I saw your planner…"

"Without my permission," I muttered.

"…And I can give you a ride," he finished.

I blinked. "Are you serious?" Hesitation crept in. "Why would you anyways?"

A bewildered look spread across Gold and he cocked his head curiously. "Why wouldn't I? Can't I help out a damsel in distress?"

My cheeks flamed in reminder of our first meeting. "Not if you're going to word it like that!" I sighed. "But if it's really no trouble…"

"None at _all_," Gold emphasized.

"Then thank you."

By this time, we had just passed the school's entrance and I squinted as the setting sun hit my eyes. When the glare finally faded, I could see how deserted the schoolyard really was, though a few stragglers were milling about. Gold however was nowhere to be found.

"Gold…?"

"Yo-!"

"Eep-!" For the second time today, I leaped back as Gold came crashing into my personal bubble yet again. This time however, he was seated on his motorcycle.

Sliding up his goggles, Gold grinned. "Scared you?"

I gawked speechlessly at his recklessness. "Are you insane?! I almost got killed! _You_ could have been killed!"

Gold sighed happily and raised a hand to his face in mock-disbelief. "Is that concern I hear about my well-being? Do Swinubs fly?"

"You idiot!" I reached over and smacked his (not helmet-protected) head. "Of course I care about other people's safety."

"Yeah, yeah," Gold said. "Well, get on! We've wasted enough time as it is."

Again my eyes widened in shock. "No way; I'm not getting on that death trap again! Once was bad enough…" I shuddered; the memory of my last time behind Gold on his motorcycle hadn't faded.

"I knew you were going to say that." Gold rummaged through his motorcycle's compartment, pulled out a bulky object and tossed it at me.

I barely caught it, I was so surprised. "A helmet?"

Pointing at his own head, Gold indicated for me to put it on. "It'll make you feel better," he said simply.

Hesitantly, I slipped on the black helmet. In an instant, everything had dimmed and I could hear the echo of my breathing inside the helmet. Gold bent forward over the handlebars.

"Here." Reaching over he placed both of his hands over my own, which were still on the helmet, and helped secure the bulky helmet more snugly on my head. Despite the stuffiness and my limited vision, I was glad for the thing; it helped cover the blush I could feel as a result of Gold's warm, slightly rough hands on my own.

"Ready to go?" Gold snickered as I nodded. I reached out and punched him gently, realizing I must have looked very strange. "Careful," Gold said steadying me as I half-blindly attempted to mount the bike.

"This is so not me…" I moaned quietly.

Gold must have had supersonic hearing because he chuckled. Wordlessly, he waited for me to settle myself behind him. When I heard him start up the engine, I tensed.

"Relax super-serious girl." Breathing out slowly, I tried, but didn't feel much better. For one thing, I had no idea where to place my hands…

As if reading my mind, Gold answered. "Oh, and you probably wanna grab onto the seat…" With a loud roar, we took off and I immediately wrapped my arms around Gold's waist in a panic.

"…Or you can do that." Despite the loud roar of the wind and the motorcycle, I could hear the amusement in Gold's tone. '_He so planned this..._' I thought.

-**at the town**-

"Never again…" I gasped, wrenching the helmet off my head as I slipped off the bike. My legs still felt shaky and I stood still for a moment, trying to gather my wits.

Meanwhile Gold had taken back the helmet and placed it on his parked bike. When he turned back, he started laughing hysterically. I raised an eyebrow in question.

"Your hair…" he managed to gasp out.

Wincing, I looked at myself in the mirrors of the bike. My hair had gotten flattened completely by the helmet. Hastily I retied my hair before turning back to Gold with a glare.

"Finished?" I asked.

"Yup!" he replied cheerfully, still snickering a bit.

"Well if you're done laughing at my plight, care to inform me where we are exactly? I don't think we left the school grounds, though with your driving we may be in Sinnoh by now for all I know."

Gold let out another chuckle. "Nope, your first guess was right. We're still technically on campus."

"Then…how?" I spun around in a circle.

Around us were buildings, but not urban skyscrapers. Instead, all the shops (and I could see they were shops from their signs and displays) were built in a quaint little town style, entirely out of wood, brick, ivy and the like. Small window boxes contained cheerful blooms of various flowers. Looking down, I could see even the road was cobblestone instead of the regular concrete of the school.

"It's K.E.P.A.'s "town,"" Gold said, making little quotation signs with his fingers. I smiled a little; the gesture was surprisingly cute. Seeing my grin, Gold gave me a curious look and I smothered it, gesturing for him to continue.

"There wasn't actually a town before, but things got complicated whenever some of the richer kids wanted to shop, but couldn't go out. Too busy for their schedules or something."

"And only the richer kids?" I asked. "Like you?"

Gold shrugged. "Most of the shops here are designer boutiques 'cause they're catering to wealthier people. Why would rich kids even buy from lower end stores?"

"Why would they indeed?" I muttered sarcastically. I shook my head disapprovingly, causing Gold to grin.

"Lighten up! But yeah, the town's mainly for rich students, so only they know about it. The faculty figured the scholarship kids wouldn't be able to afford this stuff, so they just keep it quiet generally."

"So why am I here?" I wasn't exactly rich. I was here mainly due to my mother's connections to the professors along with my scholarship.

Gold looked at me like I was crazy. "'Cause I thought it'd be a good place for you to look for your dress!"

Now _I_ was giving him a look. "I doubt I could afford a sock here, let alone a whole dress!"

"What's the harm in looking?" Before I could word another protest, Gold had grabbed my arm and was tugging me into the first clothing store on the street. "Just try super-serious gal!"

A bell jingled as we walked in, followed by a voice. "Welcome!" From the back of the store a girl around our age stepped forward. The clothes she was wearing matched the store's attire, but though she was equally pretty, the expression on her face was devious. The scowl directed in my direction made me wonder if she was a GR2 fangirl.

Gold however, didn't notice whatsoever. "Hey, we're looking for clothes."

Inside my head, I did a major face-palm at both his statement and his obliviousness to the clerk's gaze.

"Oh? We just had a new batch of men's shirts in different colors and styles flown in from Hoenn; how about I take your measurements for you in the back?" the girl crooned, taking out a measuring tape and snapping it loudly.

"Uh…no thanks!" Gold said hastily. "We're actually here for her." With that, he propelled me forward with both hands on my shoulders.

"Oh." The girl's tone cooled and she looked me up and down condescendingly. "I see…yes, you _do_ need some help. This way please."

She spun on her heel and headed toward the back, making it clear I was supposed to follow. Bristling I did and Gold followed.

"Were you looking for anything in particular? Pajamas perhaps?" Clerk girl's tone was ultra-polite, but I could still sense a hint of the smirk that was on her face.

"Actually, I'm looking for a dress," I answered, just as sweetly with a tint of annoyance.

Clerk girl's eyebrows (which were dyed to match her artificial honey blond hair) shot up. "_Really_? A special occasion?"

"No, no, I'm just competing in the school's Contest completion," I said. Maybe it would finally get her to lay off on all her snide comments if she knew this dress was merely for academic purposes.

"Oh-! Well, yes, I don't really see why you'd need a dress for any other occasion; like a date," she finished sneeringly.

…And then again, maybe not.

"Look, I need a dress, can you help or not?" I was tiring of her petty games. Narrowing her eyes, clerk girl nodded. She went over to the racks of dresses and quickly picked out a series of dresses.

"Here you go," she said. "The fitting room is over there and I'll be in the front if you need me." Turning to Gold, her mouth turned up in the corners. "Would you like to wait in the front?"

Shaking his head, Gold answered, "I'm fine waiting here for Super-Serious Gal." He threw himself down on the conveniently located velvet red couch located across from the dressing room.

"I see," clerk girl said. She threw me a quick glare. "If you need anything, call me." She walked away briskly, heels tapping loudly against the wooden floor.

Shaking my head, I gathered the dresses on one arm and stepped into the dressing room, pulling shut the curtain door behind me, and leaving Gold to his music (he had already plugged in his earphones by this time).

**-20 minutes later**-

"You must be kidding me…" I muttered venomously.

Every single one of the dresses clerk girl had given me was either too big or the designs were simply too horrible to be of any serious consideration. I was currently wearing my seventh dress, a monstrous pink mound covered in lace. The bottom had multiple layers, giving it a voluminous effect that only added to the shapelessness in my reflection. Staring at myself in the mirror, I realized that I looked like a wedding cake; a giant pink wedding cake, melting in the sun.

"You done yet?" Gold groaned from outside.

"No!" I half-shrieked.

Of course Gold picked up on the horror in my tone. "What's wrong?" And before I could even blink, he had edged his head around the curtain and was gawking at me in said hideous pink dress.

…I had to give him props for not dying of laughter. Though his cheeks did puff up a bit as the corners of his lips twitched, Gold didn't burst out laughing like I knew he wanted to.

"I take it it's not your taste…?" Gold managed to get out between tiny snickers.

"Not exactly…" I said. I felt my face heat up under Gold's amused gaze and I resisted the urge to rip off the garment and run far, far away.

"Just change and I'll meet you outside." There was definitely a note of laughter in his voice, but fortunately Gold kept it in until he was out of the changing room. Sighing, I shed the stupid dress and pulled on my uniform.

I stepped out of the room and hung the reject dresses on the rack next to the room. Turning to Gold, I asked, "Now what?"

He grinned. "Well, since that didn't work too well (here I narrowed my eyes, daring him to even mention what he'd just seen), what if you tried dressing to a theme?"

"A theme?" I cocked my head curiously. "What does that mean?"

"It means that you and your Pokémon wear something that is the same pattern or is related in some way. See? Ruby sent this to me as an example." Here Gold held up his phone and on-screen I could see a picture of a geeky looking guy wearing a lab coat, a crazy wig and mustache combo, rubber gloves, and glasses while his Venonat was wearing a similar get-up (minus the gloves).

"…You want me to dress up as a mad scientist?" I asked in disbelief.

"What? No!" Gold shook his head. "You can dress as anything, as long as it's clear that you and your partner Pokémon are in sync in terms of theme. Gets you more points that way than just wearing a straight-up dress actually."

I nodded slowly. "That makes sense…but what should I wear…?"

Gold's grin widened. "I noticed some things." Grabbing me by the shoulders again, he spun me around to face a section marked "Clearance! 50% off!" Within it, there were loads of costumes, all for females and all…tight and showy. (They must have been all the Halloween costume leftovers.)

"You could be a Skitty; you'd make a cute kitten." I blinked. "Or you could be a fairy and grant me a wish," Gold continued with a cheeky grin. I glared. "Or you could be a nurse, and mend my heart." Now I was really scowling. "Or…"

"Enough!" I reached over and smacked the back of his head. "Thank you for the info about the theme dressing, but I can think of my own ideas." Gold opened his mouth. "…Without your input," I finished sternly.

Gold flopped back down onto the sofa with a load groan. Peering over to the front of the counter, I checked to make sure Clerk girl wouldn't notice me perusing the racks; she probably intended for me to look like a fool in those dresses she had picked!

Luckily, Clerk girl was busy filing her nails. She was completely absorbed in this task, only once and a while looking up to stretch out her hands and admire said nails. I rolled my eyes and went back to the racks.

"No…nope…ew! That's not it…this one?" I held it up in front of myself. "No…"

"You almost done?" Gold asked with his eyes closed.

"I'm trying! There's nothing…wait!" I pulled the hanger from the stand and held up the garment to my body. "Maybe this one…? I need to try it on!" I dashed to the dressing room, pulling the curtain close firmly before Gold could even open his eyes.

Once again, I changed. This time however when I looked in the mirror, I was surprisingly happy with what I saw. Spinning around in a circle, I examined myself from various angles and checked to make sure there were no rips or stains on the clothing.

"You done?" Gold's voice came closer and I whirled around just in time to see his fingers edging their way to open the curtain.

Immediately I grabbed hold of it, accidentally grabbing Gold's fingers in the process, but managed to keep the curtain in place (i.e. firmly shut).

"Yes! But don't come in."

Gold's voice sounded confused. "Why not?"

"Um…" I hesitated, glancing back at the mirror. I knew that in this outfit, I looked decent…but I still didn't want Gold to see me. After his last reaction, I was worried, and maybe a little afraid, that he would laugh at me.

"I swear I won't laugh."

'_Was he a mind reader_?' I thought as I stared blankly at the hand poking inside. Belatedly I realized my hand was the very thing atop of his. The knowledge combined with the anxiety of having Gold see me, made my face flush.

"No! Don't come in…please," I added. "You'll see it when I wear it during the Contest. I think I'm going to buy this."

"Really? Ok." With that, Gold's hand dropped away and I found myself simply gripping the curtain.

Shaking my head, I changed yet again and walked out of the room with the garment draped on my arm.

Gold looked up from his phone and motioned. "Is that it?"

Before I could answer, Clerk girl appeared out of nowhere. "Have you found something that fits?" She smirked, emphasizing the last word.

I rolled my eyes and held up my choice. "Yes, thank you…this."

"Oh this?" Clerk girl took it from my hands. "Are you sure you can afford this? After all…"

"Can I see?" Gold interrupted. He snatched the garment away from Clerk girl and turned away. "Can you hold this Super-Serious Gal?" He tossed his phone at me and I managed to catch it…barely.

As I blinked in shock, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Gold talking to Clerk girl I a low voice. In less than a minute however, they were both back and Clerk girl handed me the dress with pursed lips.

"That will be $85."

Now I was _really_ surprised. "Only $85? I thought it'd be more expensive…" I said in amazement. For the quality and design, the price was certainly a steal.

"Actually…" Clerk girl said.

Once again though, Gold cut right across her. "Actually, why should it matter? If it's cheap, you buy it when it's cheap, no questions asked. Never look a gift-Ponyta in the mouth right?"

Both Clerk girl and I blinked in confusion at Gold's weird example. He rolled his eyes. "Just pay the chick for Latias's sake!"

Now I rolled my eyes but quickly pulled out my wallet, feeling some satisfaction as I laid the bills into Clerk girl's hand. She took it reluctantly, but bagged my item just as fast, probably glad to see the last of me; the feeling was mutual.

"Now can we go?" Gold asked. I nodded. "Good! Let's go get something to eat, I'm starved!" Yet again, he placed his hands on my shoulders and steered me toward the exit. By this time, the warm weight of his palms on my shoulders was becoming oddly familiar. Looking at Clerk girl, I could see her glaring daggers at me. Even though I knew it was childish, I couldn't help giving her a final triumphant look before walking outside with Gold.

-**15 min later**-

"Where are we?" I gasped, still not over the terrifying speed Gold drove at. We had taken off out of the town and were now in front of a random little cottage-type building in the middle of the woods.

"Hm?" Gold looked up from his bike. "Oh, Green told me there was some kinda café around here. I thought we could check it out!"

"Okay…?" The building looked pretty cute and as soon as we entered, a server stepped forward to greet us.

"Welcome to K.E.P.A's café!"

I blinked in shock and in one voice, both Gold and I were saying, "You?!"

Standing in front of us, dressed in black slacks, a white button-up with the sleeves half rolled up, and a green tie was the blond haired guy we had seen previously. He cocked his head questioningly.

"Do I know you?"

"Yeah, you almost ran us over last time!" Gold yelled accusingly. I immediately hurried forward and pulled down the accusing finger he was pointing at the blond boy.

"Oh, really? I don't remember," blond boy said, sticking out his tongue. "Sorry I guess!"

"What is all this commotion about?"

We three turned as a smooth voice cut in. Like the blond boy, this new figure was familiar; the navy haired girl who had bumped into me was regarding us with an eyebrow raised delicately.

Blond boy winced. "Sorry Lady, they said they recognized me."

"Hm." The girl turned back to us. "Well then, welcome to the café as Pearl already stated. This program is funded and thus run by the Berlitz family."

I nodded. "Then I take it you're one of the members?"

The gaze that met mine was steely, matching the color. However, the girl also nodded. "Yes, I am a member of the Berlitz family. That is all you need to know; please allow Pearl to seat you." With that, she turned away.

Behind me, Gold and Pearl were blinking rapidly in confusion. "What just happened…?"

In a second, Pearl shook himself from his revere and led us to a table located next to a sunny window. Though he still looked a little annoyed with the Berlitz girl's manner (her first name was still a mystery), he seated us and introduced the menu in a fairly professional manner.

"Ah, food!" Gold said happily as he flipped through the colorful menu. "What're gonna get?"

"Um…" I paged the menu slowly, nothing really catching my eye. Glancing up, I noticed the little sign placed on the table top. "This looks pretty good."

Gold looked up from drooling over the menu. "Super Parfait Special!" He read the rest of it silently as did I. At the end, I flushed.

"Never mind, I can get something else!"

"Why not?" Gold grinned. "There's a major discount!"

The reason for my embarrassment? The sign read: Super Parfait Special! Made from the finest ingredients gathered from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and even Sinnoh! Couples will receive a 25% discount. If the couple does a "romantic scenario" they will receive a 50% discount! Limited time offer."

"You can't be serious about this?" I said in shock. Either option sounded cringe-worthy, but the latter was majorly so.

"Heck yeah!" Before I could even begin to protest, Gold had flagged down Pearl. "One of these parfait specials!"

Pearl's grin matched Gold's tooth for tooth in impudence. "You got it!" And he was rushing off to the kitchen yelling out the order.

I blinked in disbelief. "I am _not_ sharing that with you."

"You sure about that?" Gold's tone was smug. "'Cause I can tell you really want a parfait."

Quickly glancing at the menu, I knew he was right. It was one of those stupid days where I was craving something; anything else just wouldn't taste quite as satisfying. I glared, but kept my mouth shut.

It seemed like no time had passed before the parfait was set down on the table before us. I stared in wonder at the beautifully prepared parfait, colorful layers enticing me to eat it immediately. I reached for the spoon…

"Hold it!" Pearl's voice boomed. "Were you guys going for the 50% discount special?"

"Yup!" Gold said, winking at me.

"Ok!" Pearl whipped out a camera from nowhere. "Ready when you are!"

I gestured at the camera. "What's that for?!"

Pearl peeked over the lens, looking confused. "To take the picture of your romantic moment obviously."

"It didn't say anything about a picture!" I cried out.

"Yes it does; it's in the fine print at the bottom." Pearl tapped the sign and in tiny, tiny minuscule words I could see it really did say a photo was required.

Gaping like a Magikarp, I felt like my brain had disconnected. There was no way I was going to do this. Gold and I weren't even together!

"So what do I have to do?" Gold's voice broke my thoughts.

Pearl shrugged. "Anything romantic. Kiss her, feed her….your choice."

Now my face really felt like it was on fire. On one hand, I didn't think that Gold would really try to kiss me in front of a random stranger. But on the other hand, he _was_ really brash.

I flinched as I felt something cold brush near my lips. Blinking, I realized Gold was holding a spoon laden with ice cream in front of me. He waved it gently.

"You gonna eat?"

Momentarily I simply looked at the spoon. Glancing hesitantly at the camera posed next to us, I edged forward, feeling the pressure of Gold, Pearl and the camera's gazes on me. At least it wasn't a kiss…

I took a bite and smiled at the delicious blend of soft cake, smooth ice cream, sweet fruit and fluffy cream practically sang in my mouth. But there was no time to savor it; as soon as I swallowed, I turned to Pearl.

"Wait! Where does the photo go?"

"Just in an album," he answered simply.

"Is it a public album?" I asked cautiously. Even if it wasn't a kiss, I didn't want an image of Gold feeding me plastered on a wall.

Pearl snickered. "Nope." He turned to walk away, fanning the Polaroid as he went.

"Wait!"

Pearl looked back with a mildly exasperated gesture. "Yes?"

"There's only one spoon…"

Now Pearl was openly laughing. "Is that a problem? Aren't you two a couple? That's the whole point of the discount!"

"Well…well, I happen to like having my own spoon!" I said.

"That would kill the purpose of the café's special." Again, the Berlitz girl's voice cut in. Her manner was certainly arresting as Gold, Pearl and I all turned to look at her. She was seated at a table next to the kitchen, sipping imposingly at a cup of tea.

I shook my head. "But isn't the aim of a restaurant (or any business for that matter) to provide customer satisfaction?"

Berlitz girl's pondered this for a moment. Then she called out, "Dia!"

Within a second, a boy had poked his head out of the kitchen. "Yes?" I recognized him as the second boy from the day with Silver, only this time he was wearing a tall, white chef's hat.

"What would be a common custom for a couple at an eatery?" the girl asked.

Dia scratched his head. "I guess they would share their food. After all, food is a base essential for people, so you must care a lot about another person to willingly give them your food."

"But don't people share with their friends?"

More head scratching. "Yeah…I guess you'd have to show it in a fairly obvious manner that you're together. Maybe sharing utensils…?" He looked hesitant as he said this last statement in an uncertain tone.

Berlitz girl smiled. "That was what I was looking for. Thank you Dia."

I noticed Dia's cheeks turn slightly pink. "Not a problem Lady." He ducked his head and went back into the kitchen.

"So you see, if you utilized individual utensils, that would simply be a show of friendship," Lady Berlitz said. "Whereas sharing the utensil is a show of a couple and as the discount is intended for couples, you must share."

Her voice held a definite tone of finality and even though Pearl rolled his eyes, he too nodded. "What the Lady says, the Lady gets…" he muttered. Shrugging in a minor apology, he went to take a different table's order.

"You done freaking out?" Gold asked.

I turned back to him, still fuming and realized a third of the parfait was gone. Gaping, I pointed at the glass. "You ate all of that?!"

Gold shrugged. "You were talking a lot and I was hungry. There's still a lot; we can share."

"But…but…there's only one spoon," I finished lamely.

"And I thought we just heard a debate on that," he said. "Here." He scooped a large spoonful and held it out toward me.

"I can do that myself," I said in a stiff tone. Even if I couldn't get another spoon, I could at least save my dignity by feeding myself.

"No way." Gold's grin widened. "It's cuter if I feed you."

I blushed. Eyeing the spoon and Gold, I could tell the chances of me getting the utensil away from him were slim to none. Somehow the thought of this second bite was even worse than the first. The first had merely been a show, this time it was actually by choice.

Reluctantly I leaned forward and took a bite. Once again, the taste made me smile just a little bit even in the face of my embarrassment.

"Indirect kiss!"

"W-what?!" I sputtered.

Gold smiled cheekily at me. "We just shared a kiss!"

"What? No!" I yelped. Feeling other tables regarding us curiously I lowered my voice. "We did _not_!" I hissed.

"Say what you want, but we _did_," Gold said in a sing-song tone, mocking me. He put the spoon in his mouth and winked. Pulling it out, he scooped another spoonful of parfait and offered it to me.

I took a deep breath, exasperated. "It is not," I said hotly. As I took this next bite I couldn't help flushing at the thought and of course Gold noticed.

"Indirect kiss," he mouthed at me and I turned away, still blushing. Gold hummed happily and we finished the parfait, spoonful by spoonful, in turn.

Despite the whirlwind of thoughts running in my brain, somehow I still managed to enjoy the delicious dessert; it was with a mournful expression that I looked at the empty glass.

"Ah…that was really good!" Gold sighed happily. "Oh, lemme go to the restroom before we leave!"

In a flash, he had disappeared and Pearl whisked the parfait glass away. With nothing to occupy my thoughts, I turned to see the café fairly empty, besides the table nearby, which was occupied by Lady Berlitz.

Though she appeared to be deeply engaged in some book, she looked up almost immediately and met my curious gaze.

"Yes?" she said, slipping a bookmark into the book and shutting it.

"May I ask…why do you need pictures of couples anyways? You don't display them…if what Pearl said is actually true…"

She smiled mysteriously. "I actually keep all of them in this album." She tapped a thick red book that was on the table beside the book she had been reading before. Looking closely I realized it was actually a manga book, specifically a romance manga.

Noticing me looking, the girl's cheeks tinted a light pink. "…I find the romance genre very interesting."

I smiled. "There's nothing wrong with that." Glancing around, I leaned forward and whispered, "I actually like reading romance myself; but don't tell!"

"Really?" she gasped, then giggled. "Then you're lucky to have found a boyfriend."

"What?!" I blushed. "Uh…it's not exactly that way between me and Gold…"

Lady Berlitz cocked her head with an innocently confused expression. "But from all the books I've read on romance, you two display the most obvious signs of attraction."

"Well, you can't believe everything you read," I countered. "Sometimes you actually have to experience it to truly understand something."

"Hm…" She pondered this for a minute. "I see…I've actually received pieces of advice like that quite often; I'm educated through my family's extensive library, but in terms of real life experience…well, that's where Dia and Pearl come in."

"Who are they exactly?" I had yet to figure out this odd trio's relationship.

"They were hired by my father to teach me in the ways of life; how to be "normal" per-say." She smiled. "They are actually quite amusing."

I nodded. "Okay…" The mention of Dia and Pearl brought back something that I had noticed before. "And you've never had any romantic experiences? Crushes for example, either you on someone or vice versa?"

Lady Berlitz looked confused. "Of course not. I have never had a crush on anyone." For once, her steady tone faltered. "And no one has a crush on me…"

I smiled, remembering the smitten expression on Dia's face. "Don't be so sure about that…"

"Sure about what?"

I jumped, then turned to smack Gold's arm (which had snaked around my shoulders). "Don't do that!"

He winced. "Okay, okay. Ready to go?"

"Yes, but we still need to pay," I said, reaching for my bag. Immediately, Gold waved impatiently at me.

"It's already done."

I practically dropped my bag in shock. "But we were going to split the cost."

"It's on me."

I shook my head furiously. "We shared it, so we should share the cost."

Gold rolled his eyes, "It's a parfait, not the world Super-Serious Gal."

The mention of his personal nickname for me only fueled my frustration. "But I should help pay!"

Gold shook his head, headed toward the door already. "It wasn't that much…" I barely caught the last words, "…after that dress…"

"What?!" I rushed after him, grabbing his elbow. "What did you just say?"

"Nothin'" Gold grinned, shaking me off lightly and exiting.

"That is a perfect example of a romantic scenario." I glanced back to see Lady Berlitz scribbling down something in the red book. She looked up and smiled. "He just paid for you…and if I heard him correctly, it isn't the first time he's done so."

I blinked, again feeling like my brain had disconnected. "Why…?"

The girl cocked her head. "Maybe he likes you."

Gold liking me? Impossible. I shook my head and headed for the doors. "Oh, thank you by the way Lady Berlitz. And tell Pearl and Dia thank you for the amazing food and service. Your café is beautiful."

She smiled again. "You're welcome…and you may call me Platina."

I nodded. "See you later Platina!" She waved as I exited.

Outside, I could see Gold waiting by his bike, whistling. I stormed over and asked, "Why did you pay?"

"Why does it matter? It's done already," he retorted.

"Then you paid for the dress too?"

"Only part of it," he answered, turning away. I stared at his back uncomprehendingly.

"…How much?"

He muttered something and I took a step closer. "How much?" I repeated.

He shrugged, "$200."

I recoiled and was about to tell him, no, _demand_ him to take me back to the town to return the purchase and get a full refund. Before I could speak, Gold had turned around and stuck the helmet onto my head.

He bent forward, his taller figure looming over me slightly, hands still on the helmet. "Just accept it Super-Serious Gal; I wanted to okay?"

He stepped back and mounted the bike, gesturing for me to do so. Shakily, I did so with help from Gold's steady hand. As he kicked the bike to life, I leaned against him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." And with a roar, we were off again.

* * *

**A/N: **Yay, so I think that constituted a longer chapter? Mangaquestshipping makes me happy; for those of you who are thinking that Gold is moving too quickly in terms of his relationship with Crys, don't be so sure, they're still in for a bit of a ride haha. I couldn't help but include Crystal's "insecurity" on clothing though; too funny. And I included the Sinnoh trio, so I hope you enjoyed that. I can imagine Crys getting along best with Platina from the other girls, that's why it seemed a good idea to put them in this chapter. And thanks to **Angelsong **in his/her review from ch.26, it was the inspiration for making the "cute, blond waiter" turn into Pearl, etc. So you see guys, your reviews really do mean a lot to me. Please review!


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